by kelsey | Mar 23, 2011 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Heart Health, Wellness/Health

Well it’s kind of hard to talk about grilling in the middle of this March blizzard, but I thought we can discuss it now so you can start preparing your refridgerator with tasty grill foods! Beef is a real common meal in my house as my husband and his family raise cattle. Red meat has somewhat gotten a bad rap with being linked to increased heart disease risk, however there are still very lean and nutritious selections of red meat that can fit into a part of a healthy diet.
Saturated fat is the type of fat that is naturally found in beef, thus we want to encourage you to choose lean selections to limit the amount of unhealthy fat you consume. Next time you’re shopping for beef, choose greater than 90% lean hamburger and look for key words such as “loin” and “round” as these are indicators you are getting a lean selection. For example, the sirloin steak is leaner than a t-bone steak. In addition, you may consider buying locally from a farmer/rancher to ensure you are getting quality meat. If you are looking for good recipes, I encourage you to check out the Beef Industry’s website at www.beefnutrition.org.
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Mar 22, 2011 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Weight Management

This last weekend marked the official start of spring and to celebrate I decided to pull out the grill to start enjoying some of my favorite foods! Little did I know that winter wasn’t done as we are now in a winter storm warning! In future posts we are going to explore some great food choices on the grill and hope that our warm weather will come back. Grilling is one of the best cooking methods for us. When we think of grilling, we often think of hot dogs, brats, burgers, steak, etc. Besides these popular meat choices, there are other foods such as sweet potatoes and vegetables that taste great on the grill. In addition, it’s important to cook your foods at the proper temperatures to avoid food borne illness. Stay tuned to future posts as we discuss food choices and proper cooking temperatures.
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Feb 10, 2011 | Cooking Tips, Diabetes, Etc., Food, Heart Health, Weight Management, Wellness/Health

Whole grains are a very important part of the heart healthy diet. They offer a great source of fiber to promote heart health. To ensure you are getting a true whole grain product, you will want to check the ingredient list under your nutrition label. The first ingredient should say “whole wheat” or “whole grain.” If it says “enriched” it is still a white product. Product packaging can make this part of grocery shopping really confusing so make sure you allow yourself adequate time in the grocery store for label reading and to ensure you are getting healthy products. Remember to choose whole grain breads, brown rice, wild rice, whole wheat noodles, and whole grain cereals over the white products. If you’re unsure of the full transition to wheat products, try mixing the white and wheat products together…such as when you make spaghetti!
-Kelsey