Celebrating Food 365 Days a Year!

As my wedding day quickly approaches (12 days away), things have become a little hectic around here!  Between working full time, planning, the wedding itself and then honeymooning (woo-whoo!) time is going to be little short.   I don’t think I’ll have another chance after today to write for about three weeks, but I wanted to give you all something to look forward to while the blog is on hiatus.  And that, is Food Holidays!! 

All you have to do is google “food holidays” to see that there is something delicious to celebrate 365 days a year!  Some of my personal favorites include National Chocolate Cake Day (February 27^th), National Cheese Day (June 4^th) and National Coffee Day (Sept. 29^th)! 

So below is a list of some great ones for you to rejoice in over the next few weeks.   And did you know, today is National Waffle Day?!?  I found out too late to enjoy it this morning but now, I’m thinking “brinner” (breakfast for dinner) is in order!

March (National Nutrition Month, National Celery Month, National Peanut Month)

3/26       Spinach Day

3/31       Oranges and Lemons Day

April (National Garlic Month, National BLT Sandwich Month, National Soy Foods Month)

4/1         National Sourdough Bread Day

4/7         Coffee Cake Day

4/14       National Pecan Day

4/16       Day of the Mushroom

4/25       National Zucchini Bread Day

4/30       National Raisin Day

How will you celebrate these food holidays?  Feel free to share any days I may have missed or any recipes you think would be fitting to honor them!

Healthfully Yours,

Meghan

Guinness-Cheers to Your Health!

Ah, St. Patrick’s Day!  A day to feast on really fatty foods, talk with a fake Irish accent, color everything green (from pancakes, to beer, to our waterways), and of course, drink a pint of Guinness.  I’m not one of those people who can drink Guinness on a regular basis, but I do like to enjoy one every St. Patrick’s Day with my corned beef and cabbage (and a shot of Jameson -sshhhh)!  It turns out however, I could maybe stand to drink a pint more often. 

You see, compared to other beers, Guinness does have some redeeming qualities.  Interestingly, those old ads, such as the one above, came about because people claimed to “feel better” after drinking a Guinness.  Go figure, right?

Those ads may not have been that far off though.  Guinness has about 125 calories per 12 oz pint, which is about 25 calories less than most other beers of the same size.  It also contains trace amounts of calcium and iron (though not enough to be considered a good source), which is where the old recommendation for pregnant women to drink it came from.    

Additionally, a study conducted at the University of Wisconsin and presented at the 2003 American Heart Association’s annual conference found that Guinness contained high amounts of the antioxidants known as flavonoids.  I would post a link to the study so you could read it for yourselves, but unfortunately it is unpublished.  Briefly, the researchers injected 8 dogs with either Guinness or Heineken and what they found was that the dogs injected with Guinness had less blood clots, making the claim that Guinness is good for your heart!

Now am I encouraging everyone to consume massive amounts of Guinness (or any alcohol for that matter)?  No, especially not pregnant women!  However, I don’t think the occasional pint of beer is going to harm you, and if you choose Guinness, it just might be good for you!

I’ll be enjoying my Guinness in this delicious looking recipe for dinner tonight.  Slainte!   

Vegetarian Guinness Stew  from www.thekitchn.com

(serves 6)

Ingredients:



picture courtesy of www.thekitchn.com

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 celery stalks
3 small onions
1 pound button mushrooms, cleaned
3 pounds russett potatoes, peeled
3 large carrots, peeled
1 tablespoon flour
One 11.2-ounce bottle of Guinness
1 teaspoon mustard
1 tablespoon Better than Bouillon vegetable base
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
4 cups water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.       Finely chop celery, 2 of the onions and 4 mushrooms. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot and add chopped vegetables. Cook until softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.

2.       Meanwhile, chop the remaining onion, potatoes and carrots into large chunks. Set aside.

3.       Add flour to the softened mixture and stir to coat. Cook for 2 minutes. Pour in Guinness and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until all vegetables are fork-tender, about 45 minutes.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Healthfully Yours,

Meghan

“May you always have a clean shirt, a clear conscience

and enough coins in your pocket to buy a pint!”

-An Irish toast

Irish Soda Bread

National Nutrition Month continues and today, March 13^th, is National Registered Dietitian Day!  Happy RD Day to all my fellow RDs out there!

March also boasts one of my favorite holidays of the year - St. Patrick's Day!  I love that it celebrates my heritage, I love the bagpipe music and of course I love the food (and drinks)!  While the Irish may not be known for their culinary creativity (think meat and potatoes), I do appreciate the history and the recipes that are passed down generation to generation.  One such culinary delight, which I especially love is Irish Soda Bread, so I decided to delve a little into the history behind this baked treat!

What I discovered is that soda bread became an Irish tradition for three very practical reasons.  First, the climate in Ireland only allows for soft wheats.  This is significant because unlike hard wheats, soft wheats do not need yeast for leavening.  The second factor, sadly, was the widespread poverty that plagued Ireland during the 1800’s.  Traditionally, Irish Soda Bread was only made of four basic ingredients: flour, baking soda, soured milk and salt, which were common in every household, including the poor.  Third, most Irish homes did not have an oven and soda bread did not need an oven to bake.  It could be done in a cast-iron pot placed directly on burning coals.

The sweet, white, soda bread with raisins in it that most people (well, most Americans) think of today is actually what would be referred to as a tea bread or fruit soda in Ireland.  As mentioned above, traditional Irish Soda Bread contains only four basic ingredients and absolutely no fruit in it! 

I actually prefer the sweet American version and received this lovely recipe from my friend Lauren a few years ago.  It belongs to her grandma, Lucille Stewart, who is an amazing baker!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! 

Irish Soda Bread

Dry Ingredients:

¼ cup sugar

3 cups flour (unbleached)

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 ½ cups golden raisins (you can use regular raisins if you can’t find the golden variety)

Wet Ingredients:

3 eggs beaten

1 ¾ cup of buttermilk (I use low-fat)

2 tbsp butter, melted

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour loaf pan or cast iron skillet.

2.     Combine all the wet ingredients and set aside.

3.     Combine all the dry ingredients, including the raisins.  Make a hole in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in.  Mix by hand just until combined, but don’t overwork.

4.     Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 50-60 minutes.



Slice and serve warm with a little butter!

“Rye bread will do you good,

Barley bread will do you no harm,

Wheaten bread will sweeten your blood,

Oaten bread will strengthen your arm.”

-An Irish Blessing

Healthfully Yours,

Meghan

Overcoming Veggie-Phobia!

I love the television show the Biggest Loser.  Sure, I love watching the transformations and the feel-good stories, but one of the things I appreciate the most is the trainers’ tough-love and no B.S. attitudes.  Realizing that the psyche plays a huge role in obesity, the trainers are constantly challenging the contestants to think about their feelings and emotions and how they might be affecting their eating habits and overall health.  For example, the episode two weeks ago was all about facing fears.  There was the typical “I’m afraid of being alone” and “I’m afraid of heights”, but I was absolutely floored when they revealed one of the contestants fears!  You ready for this?  Vegetables!  No, seriously.  Bingo, one of the three child contestants featured this year, was afraid of vegetables!  I mean, what did a vegetable ever do to him?

But sadly, Bingo is not alone.  Now, personally, I’ve never heard someone say they are afraid of vegetables, but I have heard a lot of people say they hate them.  According to a study published in 2004, a shocking one-third of all vegetables consumed in the United States were in the form of french fries, potato chips or iceberg lettuce!  Where are the carrots, the spinach, the broccoli and the zucchini?  How can you hate or fear something that is so good for you?  Yes, there it is, the old “vegetables are good for you” line.  We’ve heard it a million times and we all know it is true, but does anyone ever really ask why they are good for you? What is it that they do?

Vegetables are amazing because of their nutritional powers!  Just a small portion, with little calories and fat, packs a big punch of fiber, vitamins and minerals and phytochemicals.  The fiber helps keep us feeling full longer, helps our digestive system run smoothly and can help lower our blood cholesterol levels.  Vegetables are an excellent source of vitamins, such as A, C and K and are high in potassium and calcium, all of which are essential to our body’s functions.  These phytochemicals are compounds found in plant-derived foods that have biological activity in the body.  In food, they impart tastes, aromas and colors.  Once consumed, in the body they act as antioxidants, mimic hormones and suppress the development of diseases such as cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s.  Pretty cool, right?

So if you, or someone you know, is one of those who hate or are frightened by vegetables, I come bearing a solution. Here are my three easy tips to help you incorporate these nutritional powerhouses into your diet every day.

1.       Hide them.  Now, I’m not necessarily for lying to people about what they are eating but you do what you got to do!  You can blend vegetables in the form of a smoothie or puree them in with a marinara sauce.

2.       Dip them.  This works especially well for kids, because kids love to eat with their hands and dip foods.  Dip raw veggies such as carrots, radishes, or bell peppers into hummus, guacamole, or greek yogurt for a fun and nutritious snack!

3.       Transform them.  This requires a little bit of creative thinking but can be a really fun way to get your vegetables in.  Some of my favorite veggie transformations include spaghetti squash "pasta", mashed cauliflower and kale chips.     

Realistically, I don’t expect these tips to turn everyone into vegetable lovers.  Let’s face it, there will always be those who say that they eat plenty of french fries and “potatoes are vegetables, right?” (Ugh.)  But if I can cure at least one person of their veggie-phobia and get them to trade in a sweet potato for a french frie, then I’ve done my job!

Healthfully Yours,

Meghan

March is National Nutrition Month!

Tomorrow is the first day of March, which marks the start of National Nutrition Month (NNM)! Celebrating its 40^th anniversary, NNM is an annual nutrition education and information campaign, which focuses on making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.

I love NNM not only because it celebrates my profession (National RD day is March 13^th), but it is really the only time of the year that is devoted to healthy eating!  Think about it, fall and winter are full of gluttonous holidays including Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentine’s Day.  And summer of course is famous for cookouts that feature hot dogs and burgers, potato salad and beer!  So, yes, I like to think of NNM as a “spring cleaning” of the body!

This year’s NNM theme “Eat Right, Your way, Every Day,” supports personalized healthy eating styles and acknowledges that food preferences, lifestyles, and health concerns along with cultural and ethnic backgrounds all have a great impact on our individual food choices.  Here are four easy ways to celebrate NNM and incorporate the theme into your daily life:

1.       Experiment with new foods and tastes!  Set a goal to try at least one new fruit and one new vegetable each week for the month.  Some examples are jicama, kohlrabi, starfruit or that kale everyone is talking about!  You could also explore new ethnic cuisines such as Indian or African.

2.       Volunteer your time!  What better way to appreciate the importance of nutrition than to provide for those who are food-insecure.  Spend one day out of the month helping at your local food pantry or an evening serving at a soup kitchen.  You could also organize a food drive and donate non-perishable items.

3.       Commit to eating out less!  Pack your lunch instead of dining out at least 3 out of 5 days a week.  Plan out your dinners for the week ahead of time, so that you are less likely to order out or stop at a drive through.

4.       Get moving!  When it comes to our health, physical activity is just as important as sound nutrition.  During NNM, think of ways to move more, such as going for a brisk walk on your lunch break, going dancing on the weekends, or adding one more gym session to your weekly schedule.

For more information on National Nutrition Month, checkout the official webpage or "like" them on Facebook!

How will you celebrate National Nutrition Month?  Feel free to share your ideas!

Healthfully Yours,

Meghan

Yolk or Whites? An "Eggcellent" Question!

Which is better, egg yolks or egg whites?  This is question that comes up often and has been a topic of debate for more than a decade.  Just the other day in fact, I was giving my fiance a hard time for buying liquid egg whites!  You see, for a long time, eggs were getting a bad rap due to the cholesterol and fat that is found in their yolks.  High in protein and without fat and cholesterol, egg whites were often promoted as the superior part of the egg.  However, as I so politely pointed out to my fiance, current research shows that dietary cholesterol actual has very little impact on the cholesterol levels in our blood.  In fact, the number one factor for having high blood cholesterol is your genes! 

Luckily for us yolk-lovers, the whole egg is making a comeback!  Yes, the egg yolk contains fat, but along with that fat comes fat-soluble vitamins that our body needs such as Vitamin D. Additionally, egg yolks are an excellent source of a nutrient called choline.  Choline has been shown to contribute to fetal brain development as well as help prevent some birth defects.  For adults, choline helps maintains brain function and assists neuro-transmitters in communicating messages.  Another reason to eat the yolk?  It contains the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which contribute to eye health and may prevent age-related blindness called macular degeneration.

While it is true that the whites contain more protein, the yolk is still a good source.  And at only 70 calories per egg, you can afford to eat the whole thing and increase the nutritional benefit!

This does not mean, however, that you should go out and consume a three egg omelet everyday!  An egg a day is the recommendation for most healthy adults.  Those who have heart disease or diabetes should consume no more than three yolks per week.

Besides their nutritional value, one of the things I love about eggs is their culinary diversity.  You can scramble, fry, soft-boil, poach, and my favorite, hard-boil!  Follow these easy steps for a perfectly hard-boiled egg every time.  I like to cook several at once and then store them in the fridge.  They make an excellent post-workout snack!

1. Place eggs in a saucepan and fill with just enough water to cover the eggs.
2. Allow water to come to a boil and continue to boil for about two minutes.
3. Cover and remove from heat. Allow eggs to continue to cook for 10 minutes.
4. After the ten minutes, plunge the eggs in a bath of ice water to cool.
5. Use right away or store in the fridge for up to a week.

I like to cook several at once and then store them in the fridge to have on hand as a post-workout snack!  How do you like your eggs?  Are you a yolk or a whites only eater?

Healthfully yours,

Meghan

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sorry, I have been missing in action, but I was busy studying for this pesky little thing called the RD exam for the last few weeks and I passed!  I am officially a Registered Dietitian!

So on to the blog.  I have been looking for a non-random reason to write about these gluten-free cookies and I just happened to finally have one!  Last night, I attended a dinner presentation hosted by the Chicago Dietetic Association, featuring guest speaker Lara Field, RD on the topic of Celiac Disease and gluten intolerance.  In case you've been living under a rock and hadn't noticed, the gluten-free diet has exploded!  Grocery stores have aisles now devoted to gluten-free products and more and more restaurants are offering gluten-free menu options.

So what exactly is gluten?  In simple terms, gluten is the protein found in wheat, barley and rye.
Gluten therefore, is found in any product that contains these items such as bread, pasta, flour, and cereals.  Not only that, but it is also found in many products that are not as obvious such as soy sauce, marinades and soups. 

Celiac Disease is a serious genetic, autoimmune disease by which the body cannot process gluten and causes inflammation of the intestines.  Gastrointestinal symptoms include diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, bloating and so forth.  It can also manifest itself in non-gastrointestinal ways such as infertility and skin rashes.  In addition, Celiac Disease is linked to many other autoimmune diseases including but not limited to, Type 1 Diabetes and Autoimmune Hepatitis.  Celiac Disease is diagnosed by the presence of the genes as well specific antibodies.  A strict gluten-free diet is the only remedy.

Gluten intolerance on the other hand is not genetic, nor is it an autoimmune response.  Gastrointestinal symptoms may be present and a gluten-free diet may help alleviate them.  It is important to note that there is not currently an agreed upon definition or diagnosis of gluten intolerance. 

Unfortunately, gluten-free has turned into a fad diet by many means.  People think that it can help them with weight loss or cure other ailments, but there simply is no evidence of this.  I need to stress that a gluten-free diet does not mean a healthy diet!  In fact, many gluten-free products lack essential B vitamins and fiber and tend to be high in fat.

Ok so back to these cookies! About three weeks ago, my sisters came over for dinner and to help me stuff my wedding invitations (eek!).  I wanted to bake something for dessert, but was unsure about what to make, knowing that one of sister's is currently following a gluten-free diet (to see if she may be intolerant).  I figured it was about time I delve into the world of gluten-free baking, as it is important to be familiar with such things as a dietitian.  I came across this dandy recipe on Dawn Jackson Blatner's (also a dietitian) website and they were amazing! Seriously, so good!  Bake these for someone on a gluten-free diet and they will love you forever!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies       Adapted from http://dawnjacksonblatner.com

The recipe says it makes 18 but I only got a dozen out of them. Guess I make big cookies!

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed soaked in 2 Tablespoons warm water
• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, at room temperature/liquid
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1/2 cup oat flour (make sure it pure oat flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (I used 360 brand dark chocolate chunks)

Directions

1. Make flaxseed/water mixture (will become sticky/gel-like in 5 minutes).

2. With electric beaters, beat oil and brown sugar together until smooth and creamy.

3. Add in pumpkin, vanilla and flaxseed/water mixture. Beat until smooth.

4. In separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients: almond meal, oat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt.

5. Using a spoon, stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Add chocolate chips. Mix until just combined.

6. Refrigerate dough for 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking dish with parchment paper.

7. Scoop dough onto baking sheet. Bake 14-16 minutes, until golden/firm (I cooked them on the longer side) 

8. Allow to cool completely.

9. NOTE: Store baked cookies in refrigerator for up to 7 days or freeze.

* As a side note, because you are baking without gluten your product will tend to be softer than a normal cookie - almost cake-like.