by Dan | Oct 26, 2014 | Diet, Exercise, Food, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
You only turn 50 once, so you better make it count when that time comes. I try to be health conscious and stay fit, but sometimes, you need to splurge a little. When I came into work on Friday, my staff had the place decorated for my 50th birthday, and my nurse Chris made this cake for me.
About the only candy I will eat is peanut M & M’s, and she made this cake with it covered in them! The top was a carrot cake, and the bottom was marble. She did a great job. This was the best cake! Here is a close-up view of it.
Did this cake have a lot of calories? Yes. Did it stop me from eating several pieces, including over the weekend. Not on your life! You need to enjoy these types of things in life when it comes along. If you eat these type of things in moderation, then you can have them, and enjoy them without guilt. If we restrict ourselves too much, then we end up crabby, and depressed. I will make up for things with my diet after this, and I still exercise everyday so I can have these “good things” in life. So can you! It is OK to reward yourselves once in a while, but then get back on track, and take care of yourself. For me, I just told myself “I only turn 50 once, so take advantage of it”. That is truly what life is about. Enjoy it! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2585
by kelsey | Oct 15, 2014 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Weight Management
Last night’s STRIVE treats were again great thanks to County Fair Foods!! Two new recipes we couldn’t wait to share with all of you!
Strawberry Salsa
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 1/2 cups chopped sweet red peppers
1 cup chopped green peppers
1 cup seeded chopped tomato
1/4 cup chopped Anaheim pepper
2 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp + 2 tsp honey
2 Tbsp lemon juice
In a large bowl, combine the first 9 ingredients. In a small bowl, combine honey and lemon juice; gently stir into strawberry mixture. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours. Stir just before serving. Serve with a slotted spoon with whole grain or baked tosisto chips.
Creamy Feta-Spinach Dip
1 cup (8oz) fat free yogurt
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 oz reduced fat cream cheese, cubed
1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 cups finely chopped fresh spinach
1 tsp dill weed
1/8 tsp pepper
Fresh veggies, pretzles, or sliced bread
1) Line a strainer with a coffee filter; place over bowl. Place yogurt in prepared strainer; cover yogurt with a coffee filter. Refridgerate for 2 hours or until yogurt has thickened to the consistency of whipped cream.
2) Transfer yogurt to a food processor (discard liquid from bowl). Add the feta cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, and garlic; cover and process until smooth.
3) Transfer to a small bowl. Stir in the spinach, dill, and pepper. Cover and refridgerate until chilled. Serve with vegetables, pretzles, or bread.
by kelsey | Sep 25, 2014 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Etc., Family, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
This last weekend, our Nurse Practitioner Beth Schultz and her family represented Brown Clinic in the Chili Cookoff. They made up an outstanding batch of chili that won 1st Place-Judge’s Choice! Chili is a great way to combine a bunch of healthy ingredients into one dish that everyone loves! Incorporating lean meats, beans loaded with fiber and protein, and plenty of great vegetables makes chili a balanced and healthy meal! Beth and her husband Auston along with their girls did a great job representing the clinic and showed how eating healthy can be enjoyable and taste great! Congratulations Beth, Auston, and girls!
Delicious Chili
BC’s Booth with Auston hard at work!
by kelsey | Sep 24, 2014 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Heart Health, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
September is National Cholesterol Education Month. Whether you have high cholesterol of not, it is important to know what your cholesterol levels are and what you can do to help control them so you can reduce your risk of heart attack or stroke.
According to the American Heart Association, one out of every three people in the United States is affected by heart-related diseases. There are many risk factors when it comes to heart disease including: excess weight, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure (to name a few). In addition to working with your doctor, you can minimize these risk factors by your dietary intake and physical activity.
For a healthy heart you want to consume a diet low in sodium, low in saturated and trans fat, and cholesterol. Challenge yourself to replace these with some of the foods and food components listed below:
- Fruits and Vegetables- Many fruits and vegetables contain fiber, which helps your body take in more nutrients, can lower cholesterol levels, aid in achieving a healthy weight. Fruits and vegetables not only contain fiber, but they also contain potassium and antioxidants. Potassium can help with blood pressure by blunting the effects of sodium on blood pressure. Antioxidants may help prevent disease and keep your body working properly.. At the grocery store, be sure to choose a variety of deeply colored fruits and vegetables like carrots, apricots, broccoli, beets, berries and kidney beans to maximize your intake of vitamins and minerals.
- Whole Grains-There are many components within whole grains which provide benefits. Whole grains provide fiber, vitamins and minerals, and antioxidants. To reap the benefits, aim for at least 3 daily servings of whole grains. On the label, look for the phrase “whole grain” or “whole” before the grain’s name. Some examples include: whole grain breads, cereals and pasta, brown rice, oatmeal and popcorn. Using a supplement such as ground flax seed (shown in the picture) is beneficial to improving total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. You can work up to using 2-3 Tbsps/day for improved levels. This is often mixed into cereal, oatmeal, or used like granola with yogurt…you can also bake with it.
- Heart Healthy Fats- A diet of moderate fat intake is beneficial to your health. You can enjoy the healthy benefits by choosing oils and spreads rich in unsaturated fat, such as olive, canola, safflower, sunflower, corn, or soybean oils. Salmon, sardines, herring, trout, and tuna are terrific sources of the omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), which are types of polyunsaturated fats that may reduce the risk of heart disease. If you are unable to get fish into your diet, you should consider taking a fish oil supplement of 1-4g/day with at least 1g of DHA and EPA.
- Stanols and Sterols- These plant-based food components help block the absorption of cholesterol in the intestine, which has a beneficial effect on blood cholesterol. They are found in foods like corn, soy, wheat and some fortified foods like orange juice and yogurt. 1-3 grams of stanols or sterols are needed each day to see beneficial effects.
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Sep 17, 2014 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Last night we started our fall session of STRIVE 2 Survive. I am so excited to get to work with another awesome group of people! Besides getting to help people improve their health and wellness, one of my favorite parts about STRIVE is the treats County Fair Foods provides us (yes dietitians actually do enjoy food!). Last night’s treats were new ones to us and were excellent! Be sure to give these a try! All of the ingredients can be purchased at our friendly County Fair Food Store.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars
1 Box of angel food cake mix (one step kind–the kind that says just add water)
1 can of pumpkin puree (15 oz)
3/4 c water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 8oz package of light Cream Cheese
1) Mix together the cake mix, pumpkin puree, water, and cinnamon.
2) Separately mix cream cheese with a couple tablespoons of water to make it smooth and thinned out.
3) Grease baking dish
4) Fill the baking dish with HALF of the pumpkin cake mix and HALF of the cream cheese
5) Run a knife through the mix making figure 8s for a fancy design
6) Then put the rest of the pumpkin cake mix in the baking dish and rest of the cream cheese mix. Again run a knife through the mix making figure 8s for a fancy design.
7) Bake for 35 minutes on 375 degrees or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes, then cut and enjoy
Mock Tuna
This is a chickpea spread that tastes like tuna salad. Great served in a sandwich or with crackers or pretzles as a dip.
1 (19oz) can of garbonzo beans
2 Tbsp light mayo
2 tsp spicy mustard
1 Tbsp sweet pickle relish
2 green onions chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1) In a food processor combine beans, mayo, mustard, relish, chopped onions, salt and pepper and mix well.
2) Chill.
3) Serve and enjoy!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Sep 4, 2014 | Cooking Tips, Diabetes, Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
As summer starts to fade into fall and schedules start to become even more jam packed with school events and sports, it starts to become even harder to sit down and eat balanced meals. The summer picnics are replaced with faster on the go meals that are sometimes not the best choices when trying to eat healthy. This busy time puts an even greater emphasis on meal planning. Meal planning can seem like a daunting task if you have never done it before, here are some quick tips for getting started with meal planning.
- Start with a basic template for each day that includes a protein, vegetable, fruit, and a starch. Then sit down with your family during the weekend and plan out what everyone would like on each day. Then on a weekend day, go grocery shopping for all the ingredients that you will need for that weeks menu.
- Take a look at your child’s school lunch menu to try and plan a meal that is different than what your child ate at lunchtime.
- Make meal planning a family event by including everyone in the decision making process. Split up the meals by family members so each member has a day they are in charge of.
- Batch cook: prep some of the food items on the weekend when you have time such as browning up the hamburger, slow cooking the chicken breasts, making a large batch of chili or a large casserole and separating it into smaller containers for freezing and using now.
- Make enough to have leftovers for the next day meals.
- Keep the recipes simple with minimal ingredients for shorter prep time and incorporate your family’s favorite Crockpot recipes.
With these quick and easy tips meal planning can become a fun and enjoyable family process that will save you time and help your family eat healthy while on a busy schedule. Below are some sandwich ideas for the lunch box and easy breakfast ideas to help your child start the day off right!
Sandwich Ideas
- Whole wheat bread with deli meat (try to avoid bologna, pepperoni, and salami)
- Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
- Bagel with light cream cheese or peanut butter
- Crackers and cheese
- Pita with hummus
- Ham and cheese rolled up in a whole wheat tortilla
- Dinner leftovers
- Chicken noodle soup
- Quesadilla
- Cheese pizza
5 Fast and Easy Breakfast Ideas:
¨ Fruit and cheese
¨ Fiber rich cereal with lowfat milk or yogurt
¨ Peanut butter, banana , & whole grain toast
¨ Carnation Breakfast Essentials
¨ Simple smoothie– low fat milk, frozen fruit, and ice
-Written by Alex Loes, SDSU Dietetic Student
-Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
