Food, that is!
Thanks to all of you for your insightful healthy living tips! I covered some of the healthy living basics in my last post, but you certainly picked up the slack. I’ve compiled all of your tips in the “Reader Tips” tab under “Simple Tips for Healthy Living“. Check it out to see your name … well, not in lights. Italics :)
A common theme among your healthy living tips is the idea of portion control. I couldn’t agree more that portion control is an essential part of healthy living. While I emphasize that these healthy living tips (including portion control) are not designed for weight loss, they can help prevent unwanted weight gain. As many of us know, portion sizes have been growing steadily in the last 20-30 years, sometimes quadrupling or quintupling in size. As you can imagine, these larger portions can lead to significant weight gain. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize that current portions are much larger than they need because large portions are now everywhere. That 8 oz. muffin at Local Coffee Shop? That’s about 3 – 4 portions. I interact with a lot of people in the community who have no idea that the pasta bowl they ate at lunch contains six servings of pasta.
I mention this portion distortion not to cause a fixation on portions, but to stress that it is important to be educated about what you eat. I think we all agree that free will in nutrition is essential, yes? (If you don’t agree with me, let me know in the comments!) By knowing as much as possible about what we are putting into our bodies, we are actively choosing how we nourish ourselves, rather than letting someone else choose for us.
In addition to the fun portion distortion quiz I recommended last time (if you haven’t tried it, check it out!), here’s a quick-and-dirty guide to portion sizes mostly using your hands (perfect for restaurants):
* The area and thickness of your palm is a portion of meat or poultry (about 3-4 ounces). You can also use a deck of cards if you’re planning on playing canasta later.
* 3-4 ounces of fish may be little larger – about the size of a checkbook.
* Make a fist. That’s about 1 cup.
* Your cupped hand can hold about 1-2 ounces of cereal or a snack food.
* Your cupped hand will also hold about 1/2 cup of foods like pasta, rice, and ice cream. How handy!
* Your thumb is about 1 ounce of cheese (I use this one all the time).
* Your thumb is also about 1 Tablespoon. I often use thumbs for measuring peanut butter and salad dressing.
* Your thumb tip is about 1 teaspoon – great for butter or tub margarine.
Of course, hand sizes vary from person-to-person, so just be aware that if you’re Robert Wadlow, this guide may not apply to you. Be sure to look at nutrition labels for how many cups or ounces is in a single portion, and check out MyPyramid for a guide on approximately how many portions of each good group to eat per day (I say “approximately”, because MyPyramid is an estimation).
In my last post, I also mentioned a concept called “always” foods and “sometimes” foods. I try to balance my “always” and “sometimes” foods by eating the higher-fat, refined flour foods 10-20% of the time (I believe in steering away from a strict percentage to avoid over-restriction), and the “always” foods the rest of the time. So, what kinds of “always” foods do I enjoy? Well …
So dark outside ...
Lunch! Taken at 5:45 am, this picture represents a typical Jessie packed lunch – a balanced combo, if I say so myself *polishes fingernails* In the sandwich container is a mix of red bell pepper, green beans, and shiitake mushrooms, drizzled in Annie’s dressing (healthy fats and as many veggies as I can fit in my belly). On the side: pomegranate siggi’s yogurt (2 for $3!), to be enjoyed with a crumbled peanut butter oat bar (nonfat dairy and whole grains). To round out the meal: une pomme (fruit).
The siggi’s and oat bar, photographed two seconds prior to consumption:
Thank you, Bri and Taryn, for not giving me funny looks as I hunched over to get the best photo angle in a room full of people :D
Now! Here’s a perfect example of a “sometimes” food:
What’s that, Jessie?? Why, it’s the
“I Meant to Fry Them But I Can’t Handle Hot Oil” Apple Cider Doughnuts
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, November 2007
Ingredients:
1 cup apple cider
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch salt
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon, divided
1/2 cup buttermilk or skim milk
2/3 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cup sugar, divided
Veggie oil (if you want to fry them)
If you’re baking your doughnuts, preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Boil apple cider in a saucepan for about 7-8 minutes, or until the cider has reduced to about 1/3 cup. Let cool.
I guessed that the dark ring of boiled-on apple cider would be hard to remove ... and it was.
Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 tsp cinnamon. In a separate bowl, mix cooled cider, milk, butter, eggs, and 1 cup sugar. Stir cider mixture into flour mixture (the dough will be very sticky).
Roll out dough to about 1/2 inch thick, adding more flour if needed. Use a biscuit cutter or a rarely-used wineglass to cut rounds.
You can re-roll the scraps of dough, but just be aware that they will be tough.
I baked my doughnuts in the oven for about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Beautiful! Sprinked with a combination of 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon, these doughnuts were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.
I’ve fried these doughnuts before and they’ve turned out great. Here are the frying directions for those interested: Heat 3 quarts of vegetable oil to 370 degrees F in a heavy pot over medium heat. Slide 10 doughnuts into the hot oil. When each doughnut floats to surface, turn over nd fry, turning once more, until golden brown, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Allow oil to return to 370 degrees F between batches (essential!). Allow the fried doughnuts have cooled slightly and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
… Okay, I have to admit something to you guys … I DID try to pan-fry these doughnuts before baking them, because I don’t like to handle large quantities of hot oil – and, because I couldn’t find more than about 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil in our kitchen. How did they turn out?
Never, NEVER try to pan-fry doughnuts. It just doesn’t work.
Finally, I am excited to be attending the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE) in Boston this weekend! Held by the American Dietetics Association, this event brings together RDs and DTRs and other nutrition professionals, as well as fun guests, such as Anthony Bourdain (ever hear of him?) Needless to say, I am thrilled to meet a lot of new people! If you’re going to be in the area, let me know!
This upcoming weekend should be a lot of fun, especially as a special event is happening on Saturday, November 6 HINT HINT. Obviously, I will not be posting until I return from Boston in the middle of next week, but I’ll be sure to give you a recap of the latest and greatest in the field of nutrition!
Until then … zai jian!
Q: What are your favorite “always” foods and “sometimes” foods?
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Hi, everyone! Thanks to all of you who offered your thoughts about my apple recipes from last week: it appears that many of you have strong opinions about cooking in a microwave! ;)
Sometimes I do use the microwave when I’m in a rush. Even for things like oatmeal. While I prefer to make it on the stove, sometimes the microwave is just so much more time-effective!! (Lauren)
Microwave for cooking? No. Never. Reheating, always. (Valerie)
Microwave? No, everything cooked in a microwave sounds plain cheap to me. I even re-heat my food in the oven or stove. Takes longer, but I feel it tastes much better too!! (Christa)
For the most part, I prefer to use a stove or oven for cooking and re-heating (unless I’m running short on time!), but I do have a few select recipes for the microwave. In one of my food science classes, we experimented with cooking meat and veggies by various methods, including baking, frying, steaming, and microwaving. The result? The microwaving method turned out the poorest product by far. The veggies were limp and the meat was greyish – not the most attractive food for any picky eaters. Microwaved apples, on the other hand, are pretty tasty :) Thanks for the feedback, everyone!
Next up: remember when Peter built his sous-vide cooking device and I asked for suggestions on what we should cook sous-vide next? We’d like to try all your suggestions eventually, but in the meantime, we both wanted to try Denise‘s idea:
Sous vide??! I’m impressed….. and a bit scared LOL How about sous viding *grin* ribs??
Great idea, Denise!
With Maddie's watchful eye.
Peter picked up four ENORMOUS short ribs at Stew Leonard‘s, sprinkled them with salt and pepper, then cooked them in the sous-vide device for 36 hours!!!! Hey, if you want to get it done right, you have to be patient :)
How did they turn out?
Served with a side of sauteed kale, Peter-made picked cucumber, and whole grain bread (unpictured), these short ribs were tender and somehow more flavorful than braised short ribs, even without sauce. Yep, I’m a sous-vide convert :) I’m looking forward to trying more of your suggestions!
****
On an unrelated matter, my friend Tanya recently had this request:
Maybe you can write a post or give me some advice on this– I know a decent amount about nutrition, but my husband (weird!!!) doesn’t and is just starting to get interested in learning. Because it’s so intuitive to me at this point, it’s difficult for me to teach him in any sort of methodical or useful way. I assume you have some suggestions? (P.S. last month he tried to tell me that his enormous chocolate chip muffin bought at a street cart was (a) healthyish and (b) ~300 calories. So we’re starting at that super-basic level.
Great question, Tanya! As someone who studying to be a registered dietitian, I sometimes forget that not everyone has had the privilege of learning about nutrition in classes and in practice. Before delving into this fascinating topic, I want to emphasize a couple of things: first, nutrition is not JUST about food – the field of nutrition encompasses anatomy, physiology, psychology, genetics, environmental and social influences, and much, much more. Complicated. Suggestions that I offer will not work for everyone, but having good, solid guidelines can be helpful when individual counseling is not possible. Second, I am not attempting to help anyone lose or gain weight. If you are looking to do either, STOP! Meet with your friendly local RD so that she or he can help you come up with a healthy eating plan.
Finally, these tips are NOT designed to restrict your diet; instead, they are for readers who are interested in a few, general tips for healthy living. I offer this information to give you knowledge – I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be informed when I make healthy living choices :) These tips may seem intuitive, or you may know them already. Nevertheless, I believe that reading a short list of the most important healthy changes you can make may help some people take that extra step and try them.
Here they be:
(1) Eat a lot of WHOLE vegetables and fruits in as many colors as possible.
(2) Choose WHOLE GRAINS.
(3) Follow the New American Plate.
(4) Move.
Let’s go into a little more detail:
(1) Eat a lot of WHOLE vegetables and fruits in as many colors as possible.
Why “whole”? Whole produce gives you fiber and many micronutrients in the skin – much more than any juice or soft drink. Fiber keeps you full for a longer time. Ever notice that a glass of apple juice doesn’t keep you as full as an apple? Studies show that people who drink juices and soda eat just as much at meals as those who choose a non-caloric beverage instead. Over time, those liquid calories add up.
Why “colorful”? Fruit and veggies of various colors have different phytochemicals that do wonderful things for your body! For example, tomatoes have lycopene, a phytochemical that has the potential to protect against some cancers. (For a more complete list, check here.) So, as we say in our nutrition classes, “Eat the Rainbow!”
How many servings? As many as you can eat (comfortably). These servings include fresh, frozen, canned (watch the salt!), and dried (no sugar added, smaller portions).
(2) Choose WHOLE GRAINS.
I go into more detail about how to find whole grains in this post. This tip is tricky because manufacturers know that people are looking for whole grain products, so they disguise their refined-grain product as healthy. The low-down:
* Look at the ingredient label. Is EVERY grain listed proceeded by the world “whole”? No whole, no go! That “15 Grain” bread? Chances are the bread contains no whole grains.
* If you are buying an item with no nutrition label (like a muffin at a coffee shop), ask someone behind the counter or (if you are able) check the shop’s website. Many restaurants are posting ingredients and nutrition info. online.
* It’s A-Ok to eat refined flour products (like that chocolate muffin) – just make sure they are a “sometimes” food, rather than an “always” food. Moderation, people, moderation.
(3) Follow the New American Plate.
The basics: Look at your 9-inch plate: to enjoy a healthy plate, fill half of the plate with non-starchy veggies and fruit (that would be your lettuce, carrots, broccoli, peppers, etc.), one-fourth with starch (brown rice, whole grain pasta/bread, potato, starchy veggies like corn, peas, etc.), and one-fourth with lean protein (chicken, lean beef, pork, fish, tofu, etc.). This setup will maximize your veggies and fruits, while minimizing animal protein. ( … I realize by writing that last bit about meat, I will incite indignation from some people. While meat can be a part of any healthy diet, smaller portions will maximize your health – and allow more room for fruits and veggies! Also, I realize that the short rib in my sous-vide photo is enormous! Peter put the whole rib on my plate for photography purposes – I later removed some rib for a more appropriate portion ;) )
(4) Move.
Last note: Knowledge of portion sizes is an essential part of any nutrition education. Instead of offering confusing info. about portions, I’m going to defer to this excellent site, where you can play a game that teaches you all about portion sizes: Portion Distortion.
Please feel free to ask me any questions about these four tips :) Now, to turn the tables on you: it’s been a while since I’ve gathered YOUR tips for healthy living (check out the “Reader Tips” tab on the top menu bar for previous lists: “Healthy Snacks” and “How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep” ). So, tell me:
Q: What is/are YOUR simple tip(s) for healthy living? What guideline(s) do YOU follow?
and
What do you do to motivate yourself for exercise? Whenever I don’t feel like exercising, I tell myself that I only need to start exercising. I find that once I start, I want to keep going!
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