Diet and Nutrition

I couldn’t believe it!

Being married to a Chef, I thought I knew a thing or two about cooking. Boy was I wrong!

To provide a bit of background, I was making risotto for the boys, and discovered I was out of butter. Just as a professional chef would, I usually add a tablespoon of butter at the finish to add a creamy sheen to the risotto, and bind the grains together. Without the butter, I thought to myself, this risotto is going to be inedible. My boys won’t eat it. My husband will laugh at me, etc.

Expectantly, I looked once more into the fridge, hoping a forlorn stick of butter would magically appear. Instead, what caught my eye was a container of low-fat yogurt, that I had purchased because I wanted to make yogurt cheese. For a moment, I wondered, could this work? Desperately, I added two large tablespoons of yogurt to the risotto, and stirred it in. I could not believe my eyes as the yogurt had exactly the same effect as butter, without the fat and cholesterol. I was thrilled, and hoped you would find this discovery equally wonderful.

For other great ways to use low fat yogurt, check out this awesome recipe for seafood salad dressing. With springtime fast approaching, this creamy dressing tossed with seafood, cucumber and celery is a great dinner idea for those lighter meals that we crave in warmer weather.

Good Gluten News

People who have issues with gluten may have some relief. There’s been an enzyme identified that degrades gluten in laboratory studies. This means if you have a problems with foods containing gluten (cereals, breads) you may be able to occasionally indulge. Celiac Disease affects a very small percentage of people. But when it does, people who aren’t aware of their body’s intolerance of gluten experience symptoms like diarrhea and fatigue. There are gluten-free diet programs to help assist people with the disease.

Eating low-fat fast-food

Fast-food chains have definitely taken a beating in the past few years particularly following the release of the explosive documentary, “Super Size Me.” Given the recent Swedish findings that a diet high in fattening fast food choices can not only add on pounds, but can also damage the liver is another red check mark for these restaurant conglomerates. t

It’s been quite some time since I’ve had a full meal at a fast-food chain. I do admit though to zipping through the drive-thru every now and then to pick up a McDonald’s ice cream cone, especially during the summer. Today, most fast-food restaurants offer a few low-fat options, but how many of fast food diners eat them? Do you order a grilled chicken breast salad because it’s your own preference for lunch or is it because you happen to be with a group of people who have chosen a fast-food joint as their place of eating and you don’t want the usual fare of burger and fries? All judgments of fast-food restaurants aside, I am just very curious about the reasons.

Biggest Loser: Episodes 6 and 7

First, let me give a snapshot of episode six, which I managed to not blog about last weeks. Due to some technical difficulties I didn’t get to catch the show until right before last night’s Biggest Loser came on. So, Episode 6: Mark the mean little shark on the blue team won the chocolate-candy temptation giving him the power to trade team members. He chose to keep the teams exactly as they were. The black team continued their “little engine that could” mentality, frequently referring to themselves as “David” and the blue team as “Goliath.”  They certainly aren’t exaggerating there. But the black team has buckets more heart that the blue team- that’s where they get their edge. I thoroughly enjoyed the cook-off for Chef Rocco. That’s one element that’s missing from Biggest Loser that I wish they’d give a few minutes to in each episode- the food and recipes. It’s obviously an important subject and something that people watching at home could probably more easily implement than attempting to approach those exercises unsupervised. So the little engine did it- black team won the challenge and the weigh in, with sweet little Bernie taking Biggest Loser of the week! Don’t you just want to pinch his cheeks? He’s adorable. Back on track… the blue team went down in a blaze of dispute and glory as they all agreed to send Trent home and then turned around and voted Momma Jackie out. Dan… Jackie… Not. Happy. But they played it cool and….

… enter Episode 7 from last night. Dan decided if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. He “told” them he was over it and that he forgave the guys for letting his mom go after they had “sworn on their children’s lives” that they’d save Jackie. Looks like Mark, Jay, Roger and Trent had their fingers crossed behind their backs. So the Goliath team pulled it back together and put their head back in the game. Black team was coming down off their high of beating Blue when they headed to their challenge. They had to support the amount of weight they’d lost so far while balancing over a lake. Allison, the host, was giving her always too-dramatic play-by-play of the event. But it’s reality TV and that’s her job, so I’ve learned to just accept it. Mark the mean little shark totally snapped at her basically telling her to be quiet, to stop over dramatizing everything because this wasn’t a soap opera. So shocked! Moments later Mark was the first to fall in and soon after all of the black team was in the water helping the Blue team to win yet another challenge over Goliath. Go David!

They were still all sweating it heading into the weigh in. Which turned out to be the most jaw-dropping weigh in yet. Blue was picked to win since Black had last week and the coaches continued to remind us that you can’t lose that kind of weight two weeks in a row. So it wasn’t that they had lost that amount of weight two weeks in a row that helped the Black team win a second weigh-in, but that the Blue team didn’t pull that kind of weight. Jay weighed in and missed the win by one measly pound. ONE! While everyone was reeling from that, Coach Bob walked out. When you’re the coach- do you get to do that? I thought you had to stand strong and support your team through thick and then. Rather, he left them there hanging.

You’ve never seen a bigger group of men cry than when they sat in the elimination room to say goodbye to Trent. He’s one I believe will go home and come back Biggest Loser at-home winner. He’d lost more than any other contestant at 80-some pounds and more than anyone, his head and heart were in Biggest Loser for all the right reasons.

Next week- They are sending everyone home. What looks to be a week-long temptation at their own homes around their old vices and crutches. The previews do not make it look pretty… devastating in fact.

Cry of the Week- NONE! No tears this week. Too much drama.

Quote of the Week- Something about Jillian calling Bernie her “little monkey” just made me giggle.

One more reason to watch your BMI

A study just released from the journal Stroke reported that men with high body mass index (BMI) and high systolic blood pressure are at an increased risk of dying from a stroke. It seems like weekly, we continue to get reports from clinically-controlled trials which support the increasing body of evidence that maintaining a healthy BMI and blood pressure levels equates to a healthier and even longer life.

Start to get in the habit of being able to rattle off your health numbers- like your BMI, blood pressure and triglycerides just as quickly as you can cite your shoe size. Maintaining ongoing checks and balances on your health will motivate you to stay on track with your health goals and it will alert you to a red flag when those numbers creep up to unhealthier levels.

Dieting in the Raw

The raw food diet approach has gained some popularity in recent years. But some of that may be pure curiosity rather than a commitment to the purported health benefits. A raw diet is an organic and vegetarian approach to eating that is supposed to detoxify your body and help you shed pounds. The theory is that when foods are cooked, they lose some of their vital nutrients. The folks who produced the documentary Raw For 30 Days set out on an experiment. Given the massive obesity epidemic that the U.S. is facing, they came up with the idea of taking six diabetics and putting them on the raw diet for 30 days to see how it would positively affect them. Think of it as the anti-Supersize Me (by Morgan Spurlock).

The documentary sets out to prove that a raw diet had nearly immediate health benefits, as evidenced by the participants’ quick sugar level drops. There are surely many reasons for this. The skeptic in me says that the reason their health made a quick turnaround was simply that they gave up junk and processed foods. If you eat all natural foods, it will be a positive thing. Is it because it wasn’t cooked? I have my doubts, but as I’ve said before, while it’s a very extreme way of eating, it’s not extreme in an unhealthy way.The general moral of the story is that healthy natural foods are your best medicine. Decide for yourself, and learn more about the documentary Raw For 30 Days.

Is coffee making us fat?

It’s no new news that as a nation, our waistlines are growing. Researchers have been scratching their heads for years now, trying to find out why. New research on caffeine and diabetes may be a clue into the obesity epidemic. Turns out that caffeine raises glucose levels in diabetics; furthermore, insulin resistance and moderating blood glucose levels are becoming two of the major indicators for weight loss success. Could it be that your daily latte is the culprit in an expanding waistline? Read for yourself here.

When I was a weight loss counselor with Jenny Craig, I would sometimes have a client who would seem to be doing everything right, but still not losing weight. Sometimes, as a last ditch effort, I would have them switch from coffee to tea, and voila! Weight loss would resume. Was the difference the caffeine consumption? Tea tends to be made “by the cup” while coffee is made, and consumed, by the pot. It’s an interesting hypothesis. Time for a cup of tea!

A buyer’s guide to Hoodia

Hoodia still seems to be the latest “it girl” in the world of diet supplements. From what I have been able to determine through hours of research is the following:

1. Make sure that the manufacturer of the Hoodia product reveals all ingredients. There is some speculation that Hoodia is most effective when taken on its own, so it is important to know what you are taking. Especially if the product is combined with a thermogenic product like green tea.

2. Look for a producer that specifies Hoodia sourced from the stem, and not the root, which is a cheap and ineffective filler for unscrupulous Hoodia makers.

3. If buying online, look for a stamp, or a seal, that shows the Hoodia has been “certified authentic”. One of the main certifiers goes by the acronym C.I.T.I.E.S., and seems to have the most respect of supplement reviewers at this time.

4. Beware of online “free trial” offers that lock you into an auto-ship program. Some of these have been reported as very difficult to get out of, with the shipper continually re-billing and re-shipping, even though you have asked them to stop.

5. Look for a minimum strength level of 750 mg. As long as the Hoodia meets criteria #1, you should see immediate results with this product in appetite suppression and mood enhancement.

If you are looking for an all-natural way to combat cravings and late-night snacking, Hoodia may be just the thing. Is it working for you? Let us know!

Adventures in Food

I’m an adventurous eater. That is, I love experiencing foods from other cultures. It’s one of the things I miss about the Washington DC area. Strip malls aren’t just for Applebee’s. You have the choice of Indian, Afghani, Greek, Japanese… you name it. Then downtown you can go to an Ethiopian restaurant or Chinatown. But, I’m not adventurous in the Fear Factor sorta way. And I’m certainly not the type of person who thought that what the world needed was a cheeseburger in a can.

If this interesting new treat isn’t within your diet- give this low-carb Southwestern Hamburger a try.

A Low Carb Cure

We often look for better living through chemistry. There are plenty of instances when we need to medicate ourselves to remedy health issues. But, we often overlook the fact that food is a pretty darn good medicine in and of itself. The obvious remedies are of course preventing heart disease, diabetes, and any other number of obesity-related ailments. But now researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine are finding that eating an Atkins-like diet can help people with epilepsy control their seizures. It’s still a mystery as to why it works.

Paczkis anyone?

It’s hard to believe that Ash Wednesday is just a mere few days away. (Wasn’t Christmas just last week?) This obviously makes the day before Ash Wednesday no other than Fat Tuesday when these traditionally Polish fried balls of flour, sugar and an assortment of fillings are eaten by the dozen. Certain cities across the U.S. like Chicago, Detroit, Hamtramck, Milwaukee and South Bend, devour these carb-laden delicacies on the Tuesday before Lent- but did you know that paczkis are supposed to be consumed on Fat Thursday, which is the last Thursday before Lent?

Rather than listing the calorie, carb and fat content of one of these speciality doughnut-like treats, if you live in a part of the country where the lines outside your local Polish bakery are a mile-long before 4 a.m., have fun if you decide to indulge. Eating indulgently is a balancing act so if you’re feeling a bit guilty about your paczki weakness, nix dessert after dinner or forgo the 3 p.m. sugar fix. Enjoy and happy eating!