Treats to keep you cool this summer!

Yogurt-covered Frozen Strawberries

1 cup low-fat or fat free vanilla yogurt (or greek if you prefer)

½ cup whole strawberries

Ice cube tray

Wash and DRY your strawberries.  Remove stems.  Fill each cup in the ice cube tray halfway with the yogurt.  Place a strawberry in each and cover with yogurt until the cup is filled.  Place in the freezer and once hardened, enjoy!

Try with blueberries!  Simply dip rinsed and dried blueberries into the yogurt, place on a foil-lined cookie sheet, freeze until hardened, then keep in a zip-top bag for easy storage.

Not only are these treats easy for a dessert or snack, but they are low in calories, and high in fiber and calcium!  Who doesn’t love a two ingredient recipe?

This Week's Nutrition

Metabolism can be negatively affected by drinking sugary beverages.

United Press International posts an article reporting the findings of British researchers in relation to sugary beverages and the body’s metabolic reaction.  They found that drinking sugary beverages consistently caused the muscles in the body to prefer burning sugars opposed to fats.  These changes would cause the body to have a more difficult time burning fat, slowing weight loss and causing blood glucose levels to rise.

People are bound to make more of a commitment to exercise if it’s done in a group.

The Clarion Ledger in Mississippi posts an article about Terry Sullivan, a fitness trainer who runs group fitness outings.  Terry talks about how working out in a group creates accountability factor in a person’s fitness regimen.  Participants in Terry’s program have been shocked with how far they can push themselves in their workouts long-term because of the group outings.  Sullivan calls it a social network of healthy living.

Tips to control food cravings

An article published by the Los Angeles Times gives advice from numerous dieticians on how to control our natural cravings for sugar, carbs, salt, and fat.  One way to curb sugar intake is to plan ahead and keep a food journal, possibly getting a workout in before a night where you know you’ll be having dessert.  With carbs, try to slowly start to incorporate more whole foods containing carbohydrate like fruit, vegetables, and whole grains opposed to refined grains.  Similar to carbs, when trying to decrease your fat intake, start to switch out saturated fat sources with healthy fat sources like olive oil and avocado (in moderation of course).  For those salt cravings, grab a small handful of salted nuts to keep you from eating the bag of potato chips.

Nutrition of the Week!

Keeping a food diary can help not only in aiding weight loss but also in determining food intolerance

USA Today posted an article discussing the benefits of food journaling.  Anne McTiernan, director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Prevention Center states, “A food journal is one of the easiest ways to keep track of what you are eating. If you write it down, it seems more real. If you don't, it's so easy to pretend to yourself that you didn't eat that much.”  Keeping a food diary holds the patient accountable for their food choices and can help pinpoint where he or she has intolerances to certain foods.

Sleep deprivation found to be linked to weight gain

Yahoo! News published an article stating the recent findings of German and Swedish researchers in relation to the links between lack of sleep and weight gain.  They found that sleep deprivation increased not only a person’s overall hunger but also their levels of the appetite-stimulating hormone, ghrelin.  Further, lack of sleep seemed to cause a lower energy expenditure of the body at rest.

A Florida-based RD claims Americans should follow the Mediterranean diet more closely

The Suncoast News posts an article comparing the “Western” diet (one in which is characteristic of the American diet) and the Mediterranean diet of Europe.  The Western diet tends to be high in red meat, processed wheat, and sugar, which promote chronic internal inflammation, slowly taxing the immune system.  This inflammation can be linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, cancer and even Alzheimer's disease.  The Mediterranean diet is mainly constituted of lots of locally grown, fresh foods, fish, fruits, and vegetables with little processed foods.  It is a naturally anti-inflammatory diet.  Jane Thacker, registered dietician at the Trinity Spine Center recommends limiting red meat, sugary drinks, and artificial sweeteners and increasing the intake of olive oil or real butter opposed to margarines or “spreads”, fruits, vegetables, high fiber/whole grains, fish, beans, lentils, and legumes

This Week in Nutrition

Food expert claims calories, not food type is the key to weight loss

An article from the New York Times posts the findings of Dr. Jules Hirsch, a professor at Rockefeller University.  “Some diets are better or worse for medical reasons, but not for weight control.”  A high protein, low carbohydrate diet results in more immediate weight loss of water, giving an inaccurate lean body mass and therefore allowing the patient more calories than needed, leading to eventual weight gain.  Hirsch’s advice for weight loss is people “should eat whatever they normally eat, but eat less.”

Detox diets are not supported by scientific fact

The Reporter-Herald published an article discussing detox diets, which are designed to cleanse and rid the body of toxins.  However, the body is designed to naturally purify itself deeming the diets unnecessary.  Many of these diets are also lacking in essential nutrients for the body like protein and fatty acids, which could end up compromising overall health.  A better way to cleanse the body is to remove highly processed foods says registered dietician Katherine Zeratsky.

Whole grains and low sugar make for a healthy breakfast

An article in Time magazine discusses how looking at nutrition fact panels and evaluating the sugar content is a key factor in choosing healthy breakfast cereals.  If a cereal contains only 10 grams of sugar per serving but a serving size is 30 grams, then 1/3 of the cereal is sugar.  Even if a cereal is high in fiber, if there is too large of an amount of sugar then it is not worth the purchase. Do not always trust the health claims.  

Low Calorie Banana Chocolate Chip Bread




This delicious banana chocolate chip bread features little cholesterol, fat, and sodium, as well as little calories!




Recipe (Serves 10)

1/4 cup sugar
1.5 TB butter, softened
2 egg whites
1/4 cup and 1 TB unsweetened applesauce
1 cup browned/ripened bananas, mashed
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips


Direction


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter and sugar in a bowl and beat with a mixer at medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add the egg whites, unsweetened applesauce to the bowl and beat the mixture for another 2 minutes, and then fold in the mashed bananas. Combine the rest of the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add, 1/2 cup at a time, of the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Mix after each 1/2 cup addition until well combined. Coat one loaf pan with cooking spray, and pour the mixture into the loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes-1.

Nutrition (per serving): Calories: 130, Total Fat: 2.5 g, Cholesterol: 30 mg, Sodium 110 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Protein: 4 g, Carbohydrates: 20 g.

Applesauce Raspberry Flax Seed Muffins!

A great alternative to basic muffins with an added protein and fiber kick! You won’t believe that they’re only 120 calories per muffin!

Recipe (serves 12)

1T ground flax seeds

1 c raspberries

1 c quick oats

1 c low fat buttermilk

1 c whole wheat flour

1 t baking powder

½ t baking soda

¼ t cinnamon

1 t salt

1 egg

1/3 unsweetened applesauce

2/3 c brown sugar

Directions

1)   preheat oven to 375

2)   spray muffins pans with nonstick spray

3)   combine oats and buttermilk in a bowl and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes

4)   combine the flour, flax seed, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix with a fork and set aside.

5)   Use the hand mixer to beat the egg, applesauce, and brown sugar for 3 minutes.

6)   Bled in the oat-buttermilk mixture that has been sitting and stir in the flour mixture.

7)   Wash the raspberries and fold them into the mixture

8)   Fill muffin cups ¾ full

9)   Bake for 15 minutes

Nutrition Facts: Calories: 130, Total Fat: 1.5 g, Cholesterol: 19 mg, Sugars: 2.5g, Total Carb: 33.1 g, Dietary Fiber: 3.3g, Protein: 3.7g, Sodium: 320.2g. 

Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash Salad

1 spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise
5 cherry tomatoes, sliced
2 tbsp chopped red onion
2 tbsp sliced black olives
5-7 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and garlic.

Scrape out seeds inside the center of the spaghetti squash. Place on a microwavable dish. Pour about 1/2 cup of water inside the hollow center portion. Stack the other squash half on top. Cook time varies depending on weight of squash, about 5 minutes per pound. Flip and rotate midway through total cook time. Let squash cool for about 5 minutes.
Use a fork to remove stringy flesh of squash. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Toss with balsamic vinaigrette. Refrigerate for at least an hour and serve as a cold salad.