Posts from — July 2009

I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone who doesn’t love french fries.  It’s unfortunate that most preparations leave much to be desired in the nutrition department.

Make your own oven fries at home instead.  They’re fantastic!

Use either white or sweet potatoes – or both.  I like to leave the peels on as they’re full of nutrients. 

Preheat your oven to 400.  Slice the potatoes into desired shape and size.  Toss with a drizzle of olive oil to coat and season with salt and pepper.  It’s also fun to try other seasonings your family loves – play around with mesquite spices or peppery blends.

In order to keep fat content down, either spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray or line it with one of those fabulous Silpat baking mats, http://amazon.com/Silpat-2-Inch-Nonstick-Silicone-Baking/dp/b00008T960.  Spread the potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake until tender-crisp – about 1/2 hour.  Enjoy!

We know calcium is a must when it comes to building strong bones.  Unfortunately, many kids, teens and adults aren’t getting enough.

What if I can’t stand the taste of milk?  What is I’m lactose intolerant?  What if I milk allergy?  Will milk products make me fat?

Learn clear answers to these and many other questions, plus a guide to calcium rich foods, at http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_fit/nutrition/calcium.html.

Let’s all get our bones safer – even those of us over 30 who are watching bone density!

Condiments are stealthy. 

An easy trick for watching for fat and sodium when you’re out is to ask that salad dressings, sauces, butter, sour cream, etc. be served on the side.  Add only small amounts to enhance the flavor of your dish.

The same goes for condiments like ketchup, mustard, relish and pickles if you’re trying to watch your sodium intake.

Trust me, a little goes a long way.

If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, take a look at this article in Monday’s Boston Globe, “Thinner Wallets, Fatter Bellies” (you might gather from my wording that I’m typically 3-5 days behind in my newspaper reading). 

Sometimes keeping everyone under your roof eating well and being active just feels like another item on the daily “to-do” list.  If you’re dealing with a job loss, an impending job loss, or the fear of facing a job loss, it’s humbling to learn the challenge is shared by all, and inspiring to hear how others are dealing.

We all need a good laugh.  I can always count on my subscription to Momicillin.com.  Take a look at this posting from Tuesday about feeding the kiddos!

Summer is upon us and if you have little ones at foot you’re probably looking for new and fun things to do with them.  Why not have some fun with food?

1. Make art out of food – Try apple-wedge flower petals around a kiwi slice for some flower art.  Or maybe fun food faces with berry eyes and a banana mouth.  See what you can create and how colorful it can be.

2. Read “The Hungry Caterpillar” and ask your kids these questions:

a) The caterpillar must have been hungry at the beginning of the story.  What does your stomach feel like when you’re hungry?

b) How do you think the caterpillar felt at the end of the story?  What does it feel like when your stomach is full?

c) How do you know when it’s time to stop eating?

d) When do you know that you should eat something?

e) What are you now?  Hungry?  Full?  In-between?

3. Colorize the house (or a room).  How many colors have you eaten today?  Encourage your kids to “eat a rainbow” every day – and blue Gatorade doesn’t count!  Go around collecting old magazines and grocery store circulars.  Have the kids identify the colorful fruits and vegetables they see and help them cut out their favorite images and paste them on colorful construction paper.  Ask them to talk about why they selected what they did and then decorate the room with all the colorful art work!

The next time you’re in the grocery aisle (or studying the items already in your pantry), consider this about the information listed toward the bottom of the Nutrition Label.

The lower portion of the Nutrition Facts panel reflects the amounts of different nutrients in a product.  Typically, if the daily percentage of a particular nutrient is between 10% and 19% , the food is considered to be a good source of that nutrient.

Come on down to the Whole Foods Market in Providence on Waterman Street on Sunday, July 19 from 12:00-3:00.  Indigo Rabbit will be there with free cookie samples from 1:00-3:00 as part of the annual block party!

They’re closing down the street and featuring RI Rock Gym’s rock wall, watermelon eating contests and so much more.  We hope to see you there!

If you don’t find yourself in Providence on Sunday, come eat FREE cookies at Roche Bros, West Roxbury on Friday, July 17  from 4:00-6:00 and at the Whole Foods Market in Hingham on Saturday, July 18 from 12:00-2:00.

Dr. David Kessler, former head of the FDA, has published a new book, “The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite”.

Dr. Kessler’s ambition is to uncover why humans find certain foods impossible to resist and how this is related to the food addiction epidemic in America.  He explains that certain specific combinations of fat, sugar and salt work to stimulate our brains to want more and more, even past the point of fullness.

Take a look at a review in the New York Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/health/23well.html?_r=2&ref=health.

Okay, I couldn’t resist sharing another fascinating excerpt from “Chew On This” (Houghton Mifflin Books, 2006).

In a section discussing artificial flavorings, the authors list ingredients needed to concoct a typical at-home strawberry milk shake – “ice, cream, strawberries, sugar, and a touch of vanilla”. 

I get that.

They then print the ingredients found in a typical fast-food strawberry milk shake – “milkfat and nonfat milk, sugar, sweet whey, high fructose corn syrup, guar gum, mono- and diglycerides, cellulose gum, sodium phosphate, carageenan, citric acid, red food coloring #40, and artificial strawberry flavor”. 

Hmmmm.

The FDA permits the use of that phrase – “artificial strawberry flavor”.  This, however, is what that additive really contains – here goes:

“amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, diporpyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hyroxyphrenyl-2-butanone (10% solution in alcohol), a-ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, rum ether, y-undecalactone, vanillin, and solvent.

Uhhhhhhhhhhhh?