by kelsey | Oct 17, 2012 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food
Last night’s STRIVE 2 Survive meeting was excellent! Deidra VanGilder, PharmD was our speaker and she did a great job discussing medications, supplements, vitamins, and minerals and what’s best for our body and our health conditions. She is an excellent resource to Brown Clinic and STRIVE 2 Survive and if you ever have questions regarding your medication or supplements, feel free to contact her at the clinic!
We also had some great food (always a favorite part of the night for me!). County Fair Foods provided a very tasty Mango Salsa and provided us with some great omega-3 fatty acids with salmon cakes. Be sure to give these recipes a try!
Quick Mango Salsa
2 mangos peed, seeded, and chopped
1 large tomato diced
1 small onion minced
1 small jalapeno pepper seeded and minced
1 Tbsp cilantro minced
1 lime juiced
Salt and pepper to taste.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and enjoy with whole grain chips or crackers.
Salmon Cakes
1 box Zatarans salmon cake mix
16 oz Shurfine pink salmon
1 egg
1/4 c. fat free mayo
1/2 c. cold water
Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Let stand in refrigerator for 30 min. Mold salmon cake mixture into small patties. Fry in olive or canola oil until browned.
Dipping Sauce: 1 c fat free mayo, 1 Tbsp hot sauce–mix well.
Enjoy!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Oct 10, 2012 | 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 | Oct 4, 2012 | Diet, Wellness/Health
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The majority of us know of at least one woman who has been had breast cancer so we can all appreciate the awareness for breast cancer prevention. Nutrition can play a key role in disease prevention. There is no certain way to prevent breast cancer, but we do know that living a healthy lifestyle will aid in disease prevention as a whole.
Risk factors for breast cancer include having a family history, menstruation before the age of 12, menopause after 55, overweight, older age, pregnancy of first child after 35, and inherited gene mutations. To help you prevent disease and free radical development in your body, incorporate more vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and fiber into your diet. This includes more dark, leafy green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, cabbage, and kale; more fruits in a variety of colors such as blueberries, strawberries, cherries, and oranges; more whole grains such as oats, barley, whole grain pastas, breads, and cereals; and legumes such as dried beans.
In addition, achieving a healthy weight is also beneficial in disease prevention. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate activity every day to help you reach and obtain a healthy BMI.
Most of these recommendations you have heard from me before, but in light of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it’s a perfect time to reflect back on your lifestyle and choices you make and give you another incentive to eat healthy and exercise!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Sep 27, 2012 | Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
A few weeks ago, my mom taught me the art of canning tomatoes and salsa. It certainly makes that can of salsa seem a lot more valuable when you learn how tedious the process of canning is! Tomatoes are one of her favorite vegetables so her garden had plenty of them. There are several varieties of tomatoes, but all are a great source of nutrients for our body. As you have heard me say before, the more color, the better! Incorporating tomatoes into your meals and snacks is a great way to add a great deal of nutrients to your diet.
Tomatoes are especially high in lycopene which is a powerful antioxidant that aids in disease prevention. In addition, they are a great source of vitamin A, vitamin E, and potassium. They are loaded with great vitamins and minerals, but low in calories, making them an excellent part of a healthy diet. You can certainly eat the tomato raw like we do an apple, however you can add them to various dishes and still get these great benefits. Be sure to check out the Farmer’s Market and our local grocery stores, as they are ripe right now, making them be at a great price and quality!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Sep 6, 2012 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food
The Grilled Chicken Breasts with Caesar Salad was a big hit at Tuesday’s meeting thanks to County Fair Foods! South Dakotans rank at the bottom of the list for fruit and vegetable consumption, so increasing our produce intake is something we all need to work on. Be sure to try out this salad to help boost your vegetable intake!
Grilled Chicken Breasts
Grill chicken breasts on outdoor grill
Season with Chef Secret seasoning
Baste with Walden Farms BBQ Sauce
Ceasar Salad
1 bunch of romaine lettuce
1 bottle of fat free Caesar dressing
1 package of fat free croutons
1 c fresh parmesan cheese
Wash lettuce, tear into bite size pieces and toss with dressing in a large bowl.
Top salad with parmesan cheese, chicken, and croutons
Enjoy!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Sep 5, 2012 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food
One of my favorite parts of the STRIVE 2 Survive lectures is enjoying the tasty and healthy treats County Fair Foods provides for our participants. Last night we had a really great Chicken Ceasar Salad and an excellent Healthy Homemade Salsa. Right now is a great time for salsa as tomotoes are in season. Tomatoes are an excellent source of antioxidants, lycopene, vitamins and minerals, and are low in calories. Be sure to try out this healthy salsa recipe with some whole grain chips or baked chips.
Healthy Homemade Salsa
6 fresh tomatoes chopped
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno finely chopped (take seeds out to make it less hot)
1/2 white onion chopped
Mix all ingredients together and serve with whole grain chips.
Stay tuned to tomorrow’s post for the salad recipe!
-Kelsey
