Thursday, October 28, 2010

Fall for Apples


"An apple a day keeps the doctor away," so the time worn adage goes, comes adapted from the old English phrase, "To eat an apple before going to bed, will make the doctor beg for his bread." Full of antioxidants, vitamin C and fiber might lend some truth to the old saying. Certainly regular consumption of fruits and vegetables including apples can lead to a much healthier body and cut down on doctors' visits. Unfortunately Halloween doesn't usually lend itself to fruit, vegetables and healthy eating. How about this?
Try these treats instead of the usual Halloween faire. Apple picking, candied apples, apple muffins, cookies or snack bars instead of the usual Halloween faire. Apples can be a nice alternative with less than 100 calories in each medium sized apples. Other ways to enjoy this fall fruit:

  • Slice an apple and enjoy it with peanut butter
  • Spread apple butter on a whole grain cracker
  • Sip some apple cider - hot or cold
  • Savor applesauce bread, cake or a muffin

Apples are in season so enjoy them while you can.


Happy, Healthy, Halloween!

Marcia

Monday, October 25, 2010

Healthy Happy Halloweens


Creating a healthy experience for family, friends and neighbors of all ages at halloween just takes a little thought and planning but no more time than some of our traditional ways of celebrating. Consider having a special ghoulish meal prior to going out for tricks or treats in your neighborhood or attending a neighborhood gathering. One of our favorites is chili topped a corn tortilla out of which each of us a pumpkin face. We then baked the pumpkin tortilla faces on a cookie sheet in the oven until it was slightly crispy. Place the tortilla faces on top of warm chili and enjoy! Now you are really ready to celebrate Halloween. Try these tips to help keep the festivities healthy.

  • Give out a healthier version of your usual treats - mini boxes of raisins, snack sized pretzels, juice boxes, pre-packaged trail mixes or dried fruit, balloons, toothbrushes, crayons, silly bands, bubbles or coupons.
  • Make it a fun, family, physical activity event. Set a goal of how many houses you will visit by food and stick to it.
  • Stay in a group and use sidewalks and crosswalks when available
  • Bring a flashlight along and avoid darkened house - either no one is home or trick or treaters are probably not welcome
  • If candy collection and masses of people aren't your style dress everyone up and go to a movie together or go to the mall and trick or treat at the stores there
  • Above all avoid the temptation of buying marked down candy on November 1 - it won't last till next year and just sabotage healthy eating efforts for days or weeks

Have a Healthy, Happy, Halloween!

Marcia






Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Mirror, Mirror

Getting obese patients to lose weight is tricky to begin with for physicians and dietitians both but health professionals have a bigger battle when clinically obese men and women think they are already at a healthy weight. New research reports that many people who weigh more than they should based on health standards see themselves very differently. A study was conducted of more than 2000 obese people, all of whom measured a BMI of 30 or higher which is clinically obese. When asked to compare themselves to illustrations of different sized silhouettes, only about 8% of them choose pictures that were the same or bigger. (http://healthland.time.com/2010/10/19/study-many-obese-people-think-they-look-great-the-way-they-are) It is healthy and important to be happy with who we are. There are many different body shapes and sizes that are indeed healthy. However, it is also important that we take responsibility for ourselves and our health and that begins with looking in the mirror and honestly assessing where we are and where we want or need to be in order to achieve the level of health we need or desire.

Note that the word "health" is used not "look" or "shape" we desire. The objective here is to improve health - doctors don't care what we look like they care about how what we weigh is effecting our health. In other words, does the extra weight increase risk for chronic disease.

Eat for the health of it, not for what the scale says. Choose food and activities that will improve health status and ultimately desired weight will be achieved.
Similar research done in 2007 found that exposure to obesity also impacts perception. In other words overweight people who have fat friends are less likely to see themselves as overweight. It is called the "contagion effect" and this research found that obesity spreads more efficiently through networks of friends than family members (despite genetic links). With rates of obesity reaching 2/3 of adults it seems that being obese is becoming the new normal.


Buck the trend - choose health! Happy, healthy eating and living...

Marcia

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Fall Harvest of Vegetables

The fall harvest bring a wonderful array of hearty vegetables full of sweetness and packed with nutrients. Potatoes, sweet, white and red; squashes, butternut, acorn, hubbard delicata, turban and spaghetti; beets, turnips, onions, pumpkin and lots more. Traditional methods of preparation include baking of squash, removing the pulp and mixing with butter and honey; peeling and boiling beets, turnips and potatoes and sauteing onions or chopping raw then adding to any number of dishes for flavor.

My favorite new recipe has become a traditional holiday dish. It simply involves peeling and cutting a variety of these vegetables in small pieces. I use butternut squash, onions, turnips, carrots, parsnips and red beets. I just spread them out on a jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with sides); sprinkle with some oilive oil and then sprinkle with seasoning - usually either an Italian seasoning mixture or a combination of thyme, oregano, garlic, rosemary and pepper. Bake in a hot oven (400-425) until the veggies are tender and serve.

There are a lot of websites that feature recipes using squash. My favorite is "All recipes - http://www.allrecipes.com/ provides a lot of terrific information on cooking winter squashes. Check it out for yourself and/or try some of the soups featured below: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Winter-Squash-Types/Detail.aspx/Winter-Squash-Types/Detail.aspx

Roasted and Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, halved and seeded
2 onions, peeled and quartered
1 medium head garlic
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon each brown sugar and curry powder
1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano and cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions:
1. Place squash halves and onions on baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Wrap garlic in foil and place with onions and squash on baking sheet. Roast in 350 degree oven for 45 - 60 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
2. Squeeze garlic cloves out of their skin like paste into food processor. Scrape flesh from squash and place in food processor along with roasted onions. Puree until smooth adding broth as needed. Transfer pureed mixture to stock pot and add remaining broth.
3. Season with bay leaf, brown sugar, curry, oregano, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in yogurt. Remove bay leaf and garnish with parsley.

I know what you're thinking - "There is no way I have time to do all that!" However I maintain that ordering a pizza, waiting for it to come or going to pick it up takes just as much if not more time if not MORE. Besides, when I do this - soup or roasted veggies - there's always more than enough for more than one meal cutting the preparation time per meal in half! Get the rest of your family involved - it's a great activity and fun too.

Happy, healthy eating
Marcia

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Sabotaging Healthy Eating

As parents all we ask is that our children be healthy. Hair and eye color, short or tall, brainy or athletic for the most part we are ambivalent. But we all value health - for our children and ourselves. Unfortunately we sometimes engage in practices that work against us. Any of these sound familiar?
  • Skipping Breakfast can result in insatiable hunger the rest of the day. Often leads to unplanned snacking and eating super-size portions at lunch and/or dinner
  • Losing Track of Snacks - all those mindless munching adds up and sabotages a well-planned diet
  • Sipping Calories - don't overlook the drink calories. Fruit juice, soda and fancy coffee drinks add a lot!
  • Not enough H2O - water is needed for burning calories; metabolism drags if dehydrated which means slower weight loss
  • Loading up on Low-fat doesn't mean saving calories. In fact many products contain the same or sometimes more calories than their fat-containing counterparts.
  • Crash Diets are usually very low calorie with means fast weight loss but also a slowed metabolism. Weight gain happens more quickly as well.
  • Ditching Dairy - the body burns more fat when it gets enough calcium and produces fat when calcium depried. Supplements won't do here.
  • Drive thru bait - convenience of fast food becomes a habit quickly and despite good intentions the fries and shakes are the most common choices
  • Daily Weigh-ins are a recipe for frustration and not a good measure in short term as weight fluctuates for a lot of reasons.
  • Unrealistic Goals - dreams of quick weight loss set dieters up for frustration and failure
  • Exercise Avoidance - tough to lose weight with food restriction alone. Exercise allows more calories consumed while still losing weight.

When I was a kid, my dad developed some heart issues that were treated in part with his losing some weight. I can remember him saying to me - The goal is not for me to eat as little as possible in order to lose weight but to eat as much as possible while still losing weight. He was right. Keeping normal practices in our lifestyle while making small permanent changes with which we can live indefinitely.

Eat healthy, be happy, live a full life,

Marcia

Friday, October 8, 2010

Lose Weight While You Sleep

Losing sleep might slow down your weight loss - yes, really, sleep more to lose weight. Research released on October 5, 2010 reported that overweight adults lost 55% less fat when they got 5 1/2 hours of sleep compared with the eight hours generally accepted as an appropriate amount.( http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20101004/sleep-loss-hampers-weight-loss-efforts) Doesn't make sense I know but bear with me.

It seems that sleep loss might prevent the loss of fat and make the body try to hold onto the fat it typically uses for fuel. Instead, it burns up lean body mass (muscle). The weight loss might work out to be similar but sleep encourages the use of fat as a fuel instead of muscle. Those getting adequate sleep lost about 3 pounds of fat and 3.3 pounds of lean mass while those sleeping for shorter periods lost 1.3 pounds of fat and over 5 pounds of lean mass.

It appears to be all about hormones. Like all other body systems, weight loss is regulated by hormones. The hormone ghrelin was elevated to a factor of 10 during the time that sleep was restricted. Leptin and ghrelin are two key hormones in regulating appetite. Leptin is the stop hormone that tells us to stop eating when full and ghrelin is the go hormone that tells us to keep on eating. This can easily result in weight gain or preventing weight loss.

The moral of the story is when trying to lose weight make sleep a priority and make sure to get more than seven hours a night. Having trouble sleeping? Try these:
  • Don't eat for 4 hours prior to bedtime - sleeping slows the metabolism
  • Caffeine after 2:30pm can interfere with sleeping later
  • Confine the bedroom for sleeping - use other rooms for other activities
  • Exercise helps quality sleeping just dont do it right before bed
  • Give sleeping as much of a priority as staying connected, exercise and healthy eating

Sleep well and live healthy,

Marcia

Monday, October 4, 2010

Be the Adult - Teach Good Food Choices


Today is National Child Health Day. Celebrate by feeding the kids in your life good, healthy food that tastes great. Those are not mutually exclusive. We teach kids how to safely cross the street, make sure they get enough sleep, do their homework and be kind to others. In order to accomplish this we sometimes have to make choices that are not convenient or immediately pleasing to either us or them but we do it because it teaches them to make the right decision and live a positive, safe and healthy life. But when it comes to eating we are quick to cave in to the demands of time and begging voices that don't want what we are offering so we resort to giving the children in our lives what they want at them moment instead of what we know they really need.

One of the most important things you can do for children is to provide them with enough low-fat dairy, whole grains, vegetables, fruits and lean proteins to grow strong and healthy. This can be just as much fun and empty sugary "treats". (www.eatright.org/public/content.aspx?id=6442458865 ) Dietary Guidelines recommend the following:
  • 6 ounces grains (at least half should be whole grains)
  • 2 1/2 cups vegetables
  • 1 1/2 cups fruit
  • 2 - 3 cups milk products
  • 5 ounces lean meat or other protein such as nuts, seeds, tofu, eggs or beans

Go shopping together, try new things, have fun doing it together. Food is the perfect get everyone together and involved activity. Kids like good food - really! Be a good role model. Make healthy food a habit - a good healthy habit.

Happy Child Health Day! Celebrate.

Marcia

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Get Up and Walk


Move - even if it's just to get a drink of water, stretch or empty a few wastebaskets. Going for a walk, bike ride, swim or pulling a few late season weeds can help keep you healthy. The longer you sit, whether in the car, in front of the TV, at the computer, reading or at the park, the greater the risk of developing any number of conditions which can hasten long-term problems.
Women who said that they sat for at least six hours a day - not counting time spent sitting at work - were 34 percent more likely to die over the 14-year period studied than those who sat for less than three hours a day. Most of these deaths were from heart disease or stroke. Men with the same activity level as the above mentioned women were 17 percent more likely to die. These numbers are also true even for people who exercise regularly. Sitting can be hazardous to your health!
The least active people had the highest risk of dying. Women wo did the least amount of exercise and who sat for at least six hours a day during their leisure time were almost twice as likely to die as those who did the most excercise and who sat for less than three hours a day. Men who did the least exercise and sat for at least six hours a day were 1 1/2 times more likely to die. Sitting AND not moving around can really be hazardous to your health. So - get up and walk - a few more steps each day; a few more minutes each day. Make it part of your plan, part of your routine. You will not want to give it up. Believe me!
Happy, Healthy Moving,
Marcia