by kelsey | Oct 5, 2016 | Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
It’s the middle of the afternoon and you are struggling to keep your eyes open and focus. You keep yawning and you’re thinking isn’t it 5’oclock yet?! Has this ever happened to you? I’m sure it has! Many of us can have lows in our energy levels and we often turn to caffeine to rev us back up…which isn’t always the best or smartest choice. Here are some tips to help you keep your energy levels stable and get you through the day!
- Eat consistently throughout the day. I am sure you have heard me say it before, but this really does apply to energy levels. Eating small amounts every 3-4 hours can aid in a healthy metabolism, blood sugar control, and ward off extreme hunger. It will also help you be more focused and attentive!
- Avoid heavy eating (ie-gravys, fried foods, rich foods, etc). Eating more moderately or lightly will help curb your cravings and reduce overeating which often results in feeling sluggish and sleepy (like on Thanksgiving!).
- Focus on balance. It’s really important to eat well balanced meals that include lean proteins, fruits and veggies, whole grains, and low fat dairy. Each food source offers the body various nutrients and a balance of these is best for fueling the body.
- Make healthy snacks. Snacks should be about 100-200 calories and have a balance of protein and fiber rich carbs. This balance stays with you and lasts longer, further helping sustain energy and blood sugar control. A piece of fruit with a handful of almonds, low fat string cheese and a few whole grain crackers, or yogurt and berries are some good choices.
- Watch the caffeine and sugar. Avoid soda, sugary coffee, and energy drinks as these foods will give you an energy boost, but it’s only short term, which result in a big energy crash an hour or two later. Instead choose water or unsweetened tea.
- Get good sleep. It’s really important to get a good nights rest, which includes at least 7-8 hours of sleep. This will help you wake up rested and ready to make the most of your day!
-Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
by kelsey | Sep 15, 2016 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Heart Health, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
This week’s weather felt more like fall and with the change of season, 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.
- Batch cook: soups are a great way to practice batch cooking. Make up a pot of soup and portion it out into smaller containers and freeze. They are easy to take out and unthaw when you need a healthy meal in a pinch!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Aug 25, 2016 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Family, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
School started today in Watertown! It’s always an exciting day for families! It also means getting back into the routine of school lunch and snacks after school! If you’re a parent with school age children, you have probably witnessed this scenario many times: your child comes home from school and they are starving! They rummage through the cupboards and try to find something “good” to snack on until supper is ready. Snacks in between meals help provide the body with energy and aid in metabolism and blood sugar control, but the key is making a healthy snack as junk foods will only provide empty calories, leaving you hungry and looking for more later on.
Below are some healthy snacks for kids. Print off this list and let them pick a healthy snack afterschool!
Healthy Snacks for Kids
Inside-Out Sandwich: Spread mustard on a slice of deli turkey. Wrap around a sesame breadstick.
Rocky Road: Break a graham cracker into bite-size pieces. Add to low-fat chocolate pudding along with a few miniature marshmallows.
Mini Pizza: Toast a whole-wheat English muffin, drizzle with pizza sauce and sprinkle with low-fat mozzarella cheese.
Spread mustard on a flour tortilla. Top with a slice of turkey or ham, low-fat cheese and lettuce. Then roll it up.
Sandwich Cut-Outs: Make a sandwich on whole grain bread. Cut out your favorite shape using a big cookie cutter. Eat the fun shape and the edges, too!
Banana Split: Top a banana with low-fat vanilla and strawberry frozen yogurt. Sprinkle with your favorite whole-grain cereal.
Apple Pie Oatmeal: Make one packet of microwave oatmeal with low-fat milk. Mix in 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce. Sprinkle with apple pie spice or cinnamon.
Mix together peanut butter and cornflakes in a bowl. Shape into balls and roll in crushed graham crackers.
Microwave a cup of tomato or vegetable soup and enjoy with whole-grain crackers.
Fill a waffle cone with cut-up fruit and top with low-fat vanilla yogurt.
Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on hot popcorn.
Peel a banana and dip it in yogurt. Roll in crushed cereal and freeze.
Spread celery sticks with peanut butter or low-fat cream cheese. Top with raisins.
Stuff a whole-grain pita pocket with ricotta cheese and Granny Smith apple slices. Add a dash of cinnamon.
Mix together ready-to-eat cereal, dried fruit and nuts in a sandwich bag for an on-the-go snack.
Smear a scoop of frozen yogurt on two graham crackers and add sliced banana to make a yummy sandwich.
Microwave a small baked potato. Top with reduced-fat cheddar cheese and salsa.
Make snack kabobs. Put cubes of low-fat cheese and grapes on pretzel sticks.
Toast a whole-grain waffle and top with low-fat yogurt and peaches.
Mix together low-fat cream cheese, mixed dried fruit bits and shelled sunflower seeds. Spread on a toasted English muffin.
Blend low-fat milk, frozen strawberries and a banana for thirty seconds for a delicious smoothie.
Make a mini-sandwich with tuna or egg salad on a whole-grain dinner roll.
Sprinkle grated Monterey Jack cheese over a corn tortilla; fold in half and microwave for twenty seconds. Top with salsa.
Spread peanut butter on apple slices.
Reference: Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Aug 24, 2016 | Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Vegetables. Eat your vegetables. We hear this all the time when talking about receiving proper nutrition because of the amount of nutrients vegetables provide with such little caloric value. Nutrient dense veggies should be a staple in our diet because of the benefits they provide. Eating significant amounts of vegetables can aid in weight loss, which most of us would love to do. Each vegetable has a different amount and type of nutrients that they carry. Some have more vitamin A than others, while others may be much higher in fiber. Today we’re going to look at the health benefits of a vegetable that isn’t as popular as it should be; kale.
Kale is a dark, leafy green vegetable that has tons of nutrients. Kale is high it Vitamins A, C, and K and Folate (a form of Vitamin B). Just like most vegetables, kale provides almost no caloric value with only 33 calories per cup. A cup of kale also provides 3 grams of protein and 2.5 grams of fiber. Existing research has shown that kale may provide health benefits that relate to a decrease in risk of cancer. There is also a linkage between kale consumption and decreased cholesterol levels, which supports heart health.
Adding kale to your diet has multiple benefits. Find a way to incorporate this vegetable into your regime, whether it be eating it raw, putting it on a burger, or making a salad out of it. Next time you’re in the grocery store, don’t be afraid to try some kale, you won’t regret it.
-Written by Braden Carmody, SDSU Dietetics Student
by kelsey | Aug 17, 2016 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
For most students, graduating high school means starting a new chapter in life: college. The first month of college is typically the most stressful time EVER. Worrying about finding your classes, making new friends, and getting good grades takes a toll on almost every student. This can affect those younger students not going to college, but just back to school as well! Being stressed can have a detrimental effect on our overall health, it can even cause us to gain weight. Eating is considered to be a way to handle stress. When we are stressed we tend to eat more and snack more. Most of the time we do this we are eating our favorite tasting foods: candy, cookies, chips, and other processed foods.
If you or your children are going back to school this fall, take these tips into mind to avoid the “Freshman 15” or any weight gain for that matter:
- Choose healthy snacks for study time. Study breaks are needed, especially before exams, and having healthy snacks is an easy way to keep off weight. Eating unhealthy snacks is a major contributing factor for weight gain.
- Don’t skip breakfast! Often times students wake up as late as they can, so they don’t have time to eat breakfast. Wake up a little earlier and make time to eat in the morning. Eating breakfast has shown to keep you full longer throughout the day and can help students be more successful and attentive in the classroom.
- Be health conscious in the dining hall. Go for the healthiest options you can when choosing from your meal plan. Meals that are baked, steamed, or grilled rather than fried or buttered are much better options.
- Avoid liquid calories such as those found in pop, juice, Gatorade, or alcohol (for college students). These empty calories can add up without knowing it! Stick to water or sugar free beverages.
- Hit the gym or incorporate activities into your daily routine. Aim to get at least 30-60 minutes of activity a day.
- Get enough sleep. Sleep is vital for your body to function properly and when we don’t receive the proper amount, weight gain is very common. Sleep helps boost mood and energy levels. Aim to get at least 7-8 hours a night!
-Written by Braden Carmody, SDSU Dietetics Student
by kelsey | Aug 9, 2016 | Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
I think I speak for almost everyone when I say it’d be nice to lose a couple extra pounds or tone up a little. There are many approaches one can take to help lose weight; cutting calories, increasing protein intake, exercising more frequently, etc.
When it comes to dieting, the public generally thinks to avoid having large amounts of fat in their diet. This is mainly due to the misconception that eating fat means producing fat on our bodies, which is not the case. Eating fat can actually be very beneficial for our health and can assist in weight loss, as long as you know what kind of fat you’re eating.
There are four different types of fat that are found in the food we consume; unsaturated fats (poly and monounsaturated), saturated fat, and trans fat. A dietary increase in unsaturated fats has been proven to be very beneficial to our health and can ultimately aid in weight loss. Monounsaturated fats take credit for raising our good HDL cholesterol and lowering our bad LDL cholesterol. These fats help reduce hunger and keep you satiated longer than foods that are considered to be low-fat. Saturated and Trans fats impact cholesterol levels in negative ways. Saturated fats are responsible for increasing LDL (bad cholesterol) levels, while trans fats are responsible for increasing our LDL levels and lowering our HDL levels (good cholesterol.)
Different ways to increase your fat intake in a healthy way:
- Replace vegetable oils with Canola and Olive oil
- Add tree nuts and avocados to salads, or eat plain.
- Increase consumption of fatty fish such as; salmon, mackerel, and sardines
- Supplementing with fish oil
- Adding peanut butter to bread, bagels, etc. (this one is very easy!!)
Foods to avoid that have Trans fats:
- Donuts, pastries, and pies
- Margarine and shortenings
- Other processed foods like cookies, cakes, and chips
The idea that fat is bad for you is often misconstrued. If you need a different approach to losing weight or can’t seem to find something that works for you; add some fat! Just remember, pick the right kind because knowing what you’re eating is very important.
Braden Carmody, SDSU Dietetic Student
