by kelsey | Nov 15, 2016 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Weight Management
The Holidays are almost here! Many of you are working very hard to get ready for your family and friend holiday functions….which usually involves alot of baking and cooking! The following are a few ways to lighten your recipes so you can still enjoy…just without all of the extra calories, fat, and sugar.
Butter, shortening, margarine, or solid fat: Use 1/4 less liquid oil or solid fat called for in the recipe–so if the recipe calls for 1 cup, you could use 3/4 c. If the recipe uses shortening, use 3 Tbsp oil. Use equal amounts of oil for melted shortening, margarine, or butter. You can also replace 1 c of fat with 1/2 c. prune puree or 1 c of fat with 1 c unsweetened applesauce. Oil in place of a solid fat is also a healthier substitution. If you use any of these, you will want to monitor your baking time as it may need to be reduced by 25%.
Whole milk, half and half, or evaporated milk: Use skim milk, 1% milk, evaporated skim milk, fat free half and half, or plain soy milk with calcium
Cream Cheese: use nonfat or reduced fat.
Sour cream or mayo: use nonfat or reduced fat…or use nonfat Greek yogurt and get a little extra protein and calcium.
Cream or whipping cream: use evaporated skim milk or non fat whipped topping or cream.
Eggs: use 2 whites in place of 1 egg or 1/4 egg substitute.
Sugar: Reduce sugar by 1/4 to 1/3- if recipe calls for 1 c, use 2/3 c. You can also use sugar substitutes such as Splenda and use the equivalent chart on the back of the bag. Baking time may be shorter, so be sure to watch it closely!
If you choose not to lighten your recipes, practicing portion control is another great tool to use. Allow yourself to enjoy your favorite holiday treats, but in moderation and be sure to get your exercise in!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Nov 10, 2016 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
As the weather starts changing and it gets colder out, we tend to change our pattern of eating to more soups, stews, and casseroles. These selections are a great way to pack a variety of nutrients into one dish. In addition, they can be very cost effective due to the excess garden produce present in our grocery stores and farmer’s market lately. Here are a few nutrition tips to consider when you’re prepping your favorite meal:
- When using store bought broths or soup mixes such as cream of chicken, choose the low-sodium or reduced fat varieties.
- Use herbs and spices to season rather than salt.
- Add more vegetables and lean meat to the recipe to give you more nutrition.
- Thicken with pureed beans, potatoes, or vegetables.
- Sprinkle your soups or stews with low fat cheese for added flavor and nutrients, without too many calories.
- Think about balance: incorporate something from each food group into your meal to provide your body with a top notch quality and nutritious meal.
- Practice portion control: it’s easy to dish up your plate with casserole or fill up a big bowl of stew and not realize how much you’re eating, so measure out your foods and eat mindfully to ensure appropriate portion control.
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Nov 9, 2016 | Diet, Food, Goals, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Does your plate look like the one above? It can be challenging at times to meet the dietary recommendations for the 5 food groups. Our meals are often in-balanced and over-portioned due to our lack of knowledge, time, or effort in preparing the meal. Meal planning is a great tool to help you make healthy meals, use appropriate portion sizes, and help you meet your health and wellness goals (as well as a budget!). Choosemyplate.gov has some excellent resources in helping you get started with meal planning. They also have menus to give you some ideas on what a week’s meals should look like. Go visit: https://www.choosemyplate.gov/budget for more information and tips and direction on how to get started! I recommend doing weekly meal planning and if possible incorporate some batch cooking into that to help you save time and efforts on those week nights that you’re short on time and energy! If you’d like individual help with this, please contact me…more than happy to help get you started with improving your nutrition!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Oct 27, 2016 | Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Tuesday night’s STRIVE lecture offered some excellent treats –thanks County Fair Foods! Be sure to give these recipes a try!
Cucumber, Tomato, and Avocado Salad (pictured above)
Ingredients: 1 English cucumber, 4 roma tomatoes, 3 ripe avocados, 1/2 red onion, juice of 1 lemon, salt and pepper to taste, 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil.
Directions: place sliced cucumber, tomatoes, avocados, onion, and cilantro in a large bowl. Toss with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Enjoy!!
Garden Fresh Cottage Cheese Salad (pictured above)
Ingredients: 2 containers (22oz) of 1% cottage cheese, 1 cucumber diced,1 tomato diced, 1 pkg Good Seasoning Italian Dressing.
Directions: Mix together and put in refrigerator for a few hours before serving. Can serve plain or with whole grain crackers.
Enjoy!!
by kelsey | Oct 20, 2016 | Diet, Food, Holidays, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
It’s that time of year again. Not only are the aisles of Wal-Mart strewn with witch hats, zombie make-up and fairy wings, but of course there is the looming aisle of Halloween candy. It can be easy to over indulge on treats this time of year. Most of the candy passed out to trick-or-treaters comes in “fun size” or “mini” portions. However, looks can be deceiving; people often believe that since they are smaller in size, more can be consumed. Calories from Halloween candy can quickly add up. For example; 3 mini snickers bars pack 300 calories. To burn off that many calories you would have to walk at a brisk pace for 1.5 hours or run for 40 minutes.
Fortunately the 31st of October doesn’t have to mean automatic weight gain. Try waiting until the day before to buy treats to pass out. You will be less likely to feel the need to nibble if you don’t buy it a month ahead of time. Keeping it out of site, such as up in a closet you rarely use, can help you forget that it’s even in the house. The biggest challenge with Halloween candy is the leftovers. After the trick-or-treaters have come and gone we are often left with the reality that we stocked up for 400 doorbell ringers, and only got 15. Buying candy that you don’t like is an easy way to keep you from eating it both before and after the holiday.
Halloween Treats to Try
Sugar-free gum
Boxes of raisins
Animal crackers
Pretzels
Trail mix
Fruit snacks
Lollipops
Non-Candy choices: stickers, small toys, erasers, etc.
Halloween Tricks to Avoid
Candy bars
Caramels
Fudge
Skittles
M&M’s
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Oct 12, 2016 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Pumpkin is one of, if not, the most common fall flavors that everyone enjoys. Several types of desserts have pumpkin added to them to increase taste or appearance. Here are a few healthy pumpkin recipes to enjoy this fall season without feeling guilty about eating bad:
Healthy Pumpkin Pie
- 1 can pumpkin puree
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk
- ¼ cup rolled oats
- 2 tbsp ground flax
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
- pinch of stevia or 2 tbsp of brown sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
Directions:
Healthy Pumpkin Pie Recipe: Preheat oven to 400F. Blend all ingredients together until smooth, then pour into a prepared pie crust (such as the recipe below) in a 10-inch round pan. Bake 27 minutes (it will still be underdone after this time, which is okay!), let it cool, then refrigerate at least 5 hours uncovered for the pie to thicken and “set.”
Honey Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
- ½ cup honey
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp. ginger
- ¼ tsp. nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 1 ¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/3 to ½ cup rinsed millet (optional
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ¼ cup hot water
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius) and grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, beat oil and honey together. Add eggs, and beat well.
- Stir in pumpkin purée and vanilla, then the salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice. Stir in flour, just until combined. If you’re adding millet, stir that in as well.
- Add baking soda to hot water, stir to mix, and then mix briefly into batter until it is evenly distributed. Spread batter into the greased loaf pan.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon, and swirl with the tip of a table knife for a pretty marbled effect. Sprinkle a big pinch of turbinado sugar on top for a light, sweet crunch.
- Bake for 55 to 65 minutes. Be sure to check that the bread is done baking by inserting a toothpick in the top. It should come out clean. If the top of the bread jiggles when you pull it out of the oven, it’s NOT done! Let the bread cool in the loaf pan for 5 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes before slicing.
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cookies
- 2 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- ¾ tsp. nutmeg
- ¾ tsp. ground cloves
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 ½ sugar
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- powdered sugar (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt).
- In another medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla; beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Use a cookie dough scoop or two spoons to drop one tablespoon of dough onto a parchment paper-covered cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie slightly.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle the baked cookies with a light dusting of powdered sugar and transfer the cookies to a rack to cool.
-Written by Braden Carmody, SDSU Dietetics Student
