Friday, April 28, 2006
New Yogurt
Activia is a new functional food that claims it "helps naturally regulate the digestive tract." Translation - it helps relieve constipation.
Activia is a probiotic product that looks like a run of the mill yogurt with nutrition numbers similar to a low fat yogurt: 110 calories, 2 grams of fat, 5 grams of protein and 150 mg of calcium.
Activia contains more than 10 billion bacteria in just 4 oz. That includes a new strain of beneficial bacteria discovered and patented by Dannon called Bifidus regularis, which can survive the gastrointestinal gauntlet and speed up intestinal passage.
The effectiveness of Activia was tested in several groups of people and its was found to move intestinal contents 21 - 40% faster, depending on whether Activia is eaten once, twice or three times a day. It is not known exactly how Bifidus speeds intestinal transit, but scientists believe increased production of organic acids may play a role.
The best results come from eating 2 - 3 servings a day adding 220 - 330 calories you will need to cut elsewhere.
If constipation is a problem but you would prefer to steer clear of pills and powders, give Activia a try. It will boost calcium intake and take care of constipation at the same time. Just be sure to consider those extra calories.
Plum Good
One of China's oldest medicines is called whai, made from smoked plums and used to quell nausea, reduce fevers and quiet coughs. Plums were also used therapeutically against tumors as early as 25 BC.
The plum is a member of the drupe family = stone fruit. Thanks to high levels of phenolic compounds, plums are antioxidant superstars, surpassed only by wild blueberries and cranberries. They also contain the phytonutrients lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants that may protect against age related macular degeneration and cataracts.
Plums are also a natural source of sorbitol, a sugar alcohol that acts as a laxative. Dried plums (aka prunes) are concentrated in sorbitol and fibers, so are more celebrated for their laxative effect than are fresh plums. Both fresh and dried plums provide potassium, fiber, vit K and trace levels of magnesium and iron, but only fresh plums are a good source of vit C
In a US Dept. of Agriculture analysis of the antioxidants in 24 fresh fruits, plums ranked near the top. And in a comparison of 4 dried fruits, dried plums came out far ahead of dates, figs and raisins with more than twice the antioxidant potency.
Plums can be ripened after purchasae by placing in a loosely closed paper bag for a few days. Sliced or chopped plums add color and zing to fresh fruit salads, marinades and baked goods. Plum halves hold up well dring grilling and make a nice addition to kebobs. Sliced plums add unique flavor when broiled or grilled with chicken or fish.
For a baked treat, place pitted plum halves in a baking dish, sprinkle with a little cinnamon and sugar, cover and bake for 20 minutes at 400. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm good.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
A Little Dib'll Do Ya
"Welcome to the world of Dreyer's Dibs ice cream bites - a new snack sensation to tempt your sweet tooth" says the label. (they are called Edy's Dibs on the East Coast). "Pop 'em one at a time or by the handful".
Go ahead. Start popping. By the time you reach 26 Dibs - the typical 3 1/2 oz serving for ice cream that is listed on the Nutrition Facts label - you will have swallowed 400 calories. You can make thant 510 calories for the Peanut Butter Dibs. Nothing like a snack with the calories of a Quarter Pounder with Cheese.
Thanks to its mix of coconut oil, palm oil, and cream, each serving of Dibs slips 20 grams - a day's worth- of sat fat down your gullet. So even if you have the willpower to stop after just 4 or 5 15 calorie Dibs you will still rack up a fifth of a day's worth of bad fat.
Breyer's 4 new Ice Cream Poppers- Health, Hershey's, Oroe, and Reese's- deliver the same "snack sensation" to your defenseless arteries. The food undustry seems bent on wrapping chocolate around every ice cream bar, cookie and granola bar in the store.
Bite sized, chocolate coated ice cream snacks?It's Dreyer's, Edy's, and Breyer's way of keeping us a nation of over sized, blubbercoated snackers.
Choose wisely . . . live well.
pint sized watermelons
Bigger than a softball but smaller than a soccer ball. That is the size watermelon that people want, according to industry polls.
Why? For a start, many families can not polish off an entire large watermelon before it spoils, gets boring, or crowds out everything else in the fridge. And what about single people? Or folks who actually walk to the market?
Sliced-and-wrapped wedges are fine, but they are never quite as fresh and crisp as a just cut melon. Now watermelon lovers can have the best of both worlds: mini watermelons the size of a large cantaloupe, sold under names like the Duicinea PureHeart and the Seminis Bambino. You pay more per pound, but the price (about $4 apiece) is still reasonable.
The seedless mini melons are not genetically engineered and have that rich, scarlet juiciness that few adults or kids can resist.
Bonus: watermelon is one of the most nutrient packed fruits, with vitamins A & C, potassium, and lycopene, all for just 80 calories in 2 cups diced.
Sooooooo toss a pint sized watermelon into your shopping cart or (sturdy) lunch bag.
Who says working all day is no picnic?
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Sodium Trouble Spots
The easiest way to steer clear of excess sodium is to buy foods with only a single ingredient - fruits, veggies, grains, nuts, meat, poultry, fish . . . you get the idea. The sodium starts to climb once you move on to cheese, bread, salted nuts, and other foods with multiple ingredients. Here are some ideas to get away from the supermarket sodium bombs.
Soup: most have 700 - 1000 mg of sodium in a modest 1 cup serving.
Look for: if you can't find (or make your own) low sodium soups, try Amy's 3 delicious light in sodium canned soups. Those keep sodium in the low 300 mg range. Imagine Organic soups are in the mid 300s while both Healthy Choice and Campbell's Healthy Request soups clock in at 480 mg or less. For soup, that is not bad.
Frozen entrees: you can find Stouffer's Boston Market, and Marie Callender's meals with more than 1500 mg of sodium.
Look for: Healthy Choice never tops 600 mgs - not low but they could be worse. Some Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones are in the same ball park.
Lunch meats: you could easily swallow 600 to 1000 mg of sodium in just 2 slices.
Look for: Healthy Choice meats hover around 480 mg of sodium. Uncured meats are generally lower. Most Wellshire Farms deli meats range from 150 to 250 mg. Applegate Farms roast beef (230mg) and turkey bologna (360 mg) are also lowish.
Salad dressing: if you are not careful, 2 tablespoons can add 400 or 500 mg of sodium to your salad.
Look for: olive-oil-and-vinegar and sweet dressings generally are low. Try Newman's Own Olive Oil & Vinegar (150mg) or Ken's Steak House Lite Raspberry Walnut Vinagrette (130mg) . . . or . . . make your own.
Soy Sauce: each tablespoon has some 850 mg of sodium.
Look for: soy sauce labeled "lite" or "less salt" typically has about 550 mg of sodium per tablespoon. While that is still high, saving 300 mg of sodium is a good choice.
Marinades: it does no good to buy unseasoned poulty, fish, or veggies if you douse them in marinades that have 250 - 500 mg of sodium in every tablespoon.
Look for: Mrs. Dash Salt Free Mesquite Grille, Lemon Herb Peppercorn, Southwestern Chipotle, and Zesty Garlic Herb 10 Minute Marinades are deeeeeeeeeelicious. Add olive oil and the Zesty Garlic Herb doubles as a salad dressing.
Tomatoes: from spaghetti sauce (900 - 1200mg per cup) to canned tomatoes (400 - 800 mg) to tomato juice (700mg) almost any tomatoes except fresh are soaked with sodium.
Look for: you can save a nice chunk of sodium by choosing the right brand. READ THE LABEL!!! and then compare.
Chicken broth: a good chicken broth can work wonders in your rice, soup, sauce, or stir fry, but most brands - Swanson, for example - have around 900 mg of sodium per cup.
Look for: any low sodium broth will do.
Chicken: many processors add salt and water to keep their raw poultry moist. Tyson Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts look just like your local supermarkets raw chicken breast, yet they have 3 times as much sodium (230mg vs. 80mg in 4 oz.). Seasoned parts often have much more. Watch out for products like Tyson Roasted Chicken Breast Halves (670 mg in a 5 oz breast) or Louis Rich Chicken Breast Strips (780 mg in a 5 oz. breast).
Look for: check the label to find chicken with the least added salt. Then use Mrs. Dash marinades or make your own.
Rice & Pasta mixes: Uncle Ben's Near East, Rice A Roni, Zatarain's and other rice or pasta mixes offer convenience at a price - some 500 to 1000mg of sodium in just one cup.
Look for: a few small brands - like Bean Cuisine, Taste Adventure, and Chef's Originals Rice Select - cut the sodium to the mid 200 or 300s.
Make a habit of reading labels so you can CHOOSE WISELY . . . and . . . LIVE WELL.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Pans in the Kitchen
Though its manufacturers are loath to admit it, choosing quality bakeware is pretty simple. All the usual jargon about clad aluminum cores and anodized coatings remains in full force, but when it comes to shopping for cake pans and cookie sheets here is a few ideas and recommendations.
Tempered, ovenproof glass: Better known as Pyrex, thick tempered glass retains plenty of heat, so pans made from it ensure deep and even browning. They also make it easy to monitor the browning as it develops. Because Pyrex is scratch resistant, you can cut and serve right from the pan with sharp knives and metal spatulas.
Dark Colored Finishes: When it comes to metal pans, neigther the type of metal nor its thickness matters much. What does matter is the color of the pan. Dark colored nonstick pans allow metal to absorb more heat inside the oven than reflective, lighter colored materials. The result = darker browning of baked goods, which is almost always a good thing. Combine that with the clean release and easy cleanup of nonstick and pans in this category are often the ones to beat.
Light Colored Finishes: A well browned crust releases more easily from a pan than a pale crust. Because light colored reflective pans brown more slowly than dark colored pans, and because they also lack a nonstick coating I am reluctant to recommend them. In a few situations, however, this controlled browning can be an advantage, such as when baking cookies. ( Because it is only the bottom of a cookie that is in contact with the metal, it can easily burn before the rest of the cookie bakes thru).
Insulated: To protect against overbrowning insulated pans incorporated a layer of air sandwiched between 2 sheets of metal. Unfortunately, this "insulation" works all too well. The pans produce pale, underdeveloped crusts. The interior chamber also becomes waterlogged if submerged in water during cleanup.
Silicone: These flexible, rubbery pans are the most useless things to appear in the kitchen since salad shooters. These "pans" do not brown well, and getting them into the oven when loaded down with batter is awkward.
Read the Fine Print
If you have a recipe that includes canned whole tomatoes, I have always recommended Progresso. They have a firm texture, bright acidity and fresh taste. Those qualities make it the natural choice for all your sauce recipes.
Progresso now makes two varieties of whole canned tomatoes.
1. The whole peeled tomatoes with basil are packed in tomato juice!
2. The whole peeled tomatoes with basil and tomato puree. Puree (unlike juice) is cooked, and it gives the uncooked tomatoes packed in it a stale taste.
READ THE FINE PRINT AND SELECT THE TOMATOES PACKED IN JUICE.
Learning Curve
I delight in making from scratch a pineapple upside down cake. However, each time I make it, it comes out different ie texture.
I have asked many "baker" friends if they knew why and have played on the internet and thumbed thru cook books to determine the "why"
Answer: Although you cannot overbeat the eggs, sugar and butter, you can overbeat the flour. If you do, you will develop the gluten and create a quick bread rather than a cake. Sooooooooooo, beat the flour just until there are no white grains of undissolved flour visible but not until the batter is smoooooooth.
Just wanted to share.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Pine Nuts
For those who follow my blog you already know that "it is okay to go nuts". I have been getting email questions on pine nuts so here is some info.
Ancient Romans preserved pine nuts in honey, pressed them into wine and used them in sausage. Nicknamed pinoccoli or pinocchi in Italy, this popular nut was the inspiration for Pinocchio's name, because his nose is shaped like a pine nut.
Pine nuts and Indian nuts are creamy white in color, soft, sweet and chewy. The tiny, torpedo shaped kernels are harvested from the cones of about 20 varieties of pine trees.
A serving of pine nuts is a good source of copper, magnesium and zinc. Pine nuts are surpassed only by almonds and hazelnuts in vitamin E content of nuts and supply nearly 20% of the daily value for vitamin K, important for blood clotting and bone health.
As with all nuts, the fat is mostly good-for-you mono- and polyunsaturated. Pine nuts also contain phytosterols - plant compounds that block cholesterol's absorption at twice the level found in walnuts.
Toasting pine nuts brings out their rich flavor. To toast, spread on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 5 - 10 minutes until golden brown. Pine nuts are ideal for stuffings, salads and baked goods. Add them to ground meat for meatballs.
Pine nuts are more expensive than most nuts, because those tiny nuts are more labor intensive to harvest. One pound costs $8 - $14. Lucky for us, a little goes a long way.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Honey, I Shrunk the Oats
Honey Bunches of Oats is one of the 5 top selling brand name cereals (along with Cheerios, Frosted Flakes and Frosted Mini Wheats)
The "Good Source of Whole Grain". on the package probably does not hurt sales. Yet the cereal industry has decided that to qualify for that claim, a cereal needs just 8 grams of whole grain per serving. Do not confuse that with 8 grams of fiber. 8 grams of whole wheat, contains less than 1 gram of fiber. The Food and Drug Administration has asked cereal manufacturers to stop making " good source" claims, but companies need not comply.
Honey Bunches claim means that it could be as little as 25 % whole grain. Its first ingredient is (refined) corn, and each 3/4 serving has just 2 grams of fiber.
A word to the wise: Ignore "good" or "excellent source of whole grain" claims. Instead, make sure that at least the first grain in the ingredient list is WHOLE.
No Diet Cereals
Special K used to be THE diet cereal ( thanks to Kellogg's marketing department, not he contents of the box). Now others want a piece of the action.
The most disappointing: overly sweet Weight Watchers cereals ( the fake cinnamon and vanilla varieties taste more like toothpaste than cereal). Their 90 to 170 calories per serving - depending on whether they are sweetened with the safe artificial sweetener Splenda (sucralose) or evaporated cane juice - are no less than most similar cereals.
Much of the fiber in Weight Watchers comes not from whole grains, but from inulin, a carbohydrate that is typically isolated from chicory root. Inulin is considered fiber because it is poorly digested. But like all isolated fibers, it may not reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, or constipation as well as the intact fiber in whole grains.
Dieters ( and anyone else) could do better with almost any of the whole grain cereals. If you have a sweet tooth, try Sough Beach Diet Whole Gain Crunch or Fiber One Honey Clusters. Both are sweetened with Splenda but do not have the cloying, sweet aftertaste of Weight Watchers.
Choose wisely . . . live well.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
No Magic
"Lose 10 lbs. The Heart Healthy Way!" say the boxes of Grape Nuts, Raisin Bran, Shredded Wheat and the other cereals in Post's Healthy Classics line. "Research by a leading cardiologist shows that people who ate 2 servings of Post Healthy Classics cereals each day, as part of a reduced calorie diet, lost 10 lbs and reduced their risk factors for heart disease . . . "
According to Post, half of the people in the study lost at least 10 lbs in 12 weeks by (1) replacing two meals a day with two bowls of Post Healthy Classics cereal, (2) cutting an average of 600 calories a day out of their diet, and (3) exercising for up to 45 minutes a day, five days a week. Well DUH.
Any healthy whole grain cereal (shredded wheat for example) could help you feel full while you cut calories, but NONE are magic bullets.
Yogurt Nonsense
"Whole Grain Flakes with a Naturally Flavored Yogurt Coating!" exclaims the Vanilla Yogurt Total box.
Cereal dipped in yogurt? Only if you define yogurt as a mixture of sugar, palm kernel oil, dextrose ( a form of sugar) dried nonfat yogurt, and natural flavor. The cereal is an "excellent source of calcium" not because of yogurt, but because of added calcium carbonate.
Fruit & Yogurt Special K, Yogurt Burst Cheerios, All Bran Yogurt Bites, and Vanilla Yogurt Crunch Life are also short on yogurt Yogurt powder is typically heat treated, which kills any beneficial bacteria. Of course, phantom ingredients are nothing new in the cereal aisle Special K's "berry oat clusters," are made of dyed and flavored apple pieces, not berries.
Confusion in the Aisle.
If health sells anywhere in the supermarket, it is in the cereal aisle.
You do not pick a cereal as much as you do a health problem (can help lower cholesterol; may reduce the risk of stroke; lose 10 pounds the heart healthy way) or a diet strategy (South Beach, Weight Watchers, Special K, GoLean).
Either way, the competition for your eyeballs, your health concerns, and your pocketbook is fierce. Here are a few cereals to look for and why.
1. Low Sugar: Cereals like the original Cheerios, Wheaties, and Total are hard to criticize. A bowl of Wheaties or Total is basically whole wheat with a little sugar and some vitamins. And all 3 brands easily stay under my limit of 8 grams of sugar per 1 or 2 oz serving. BUT, at 3 grams of fiber per serving none of them give your breakfast a strong push toward the latest daily fiber targets from the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine = 21 grams for women 51 or older; 25 grams for women 50 or younger; 30 grams for men 51 or older; 38 grams for men 50 or younger.
2. High Fiber: Shredded Wheat, with 6 grams of fiber and zero sugar per serving, clearly deserves your attention.
3. Super High Fiber: More than a dozen popular, mostly whole grain cereals have at least 8 grams of fiber. And your options now go beyond the tiny pellets in All Bran to the flakes, clusters, and more in cereals like General Mills Fiber One Honey Clusters, Weetabix Organic Cripsy Flakes & Fiber and Kashi Good Friends.
Just an Idea
When you have a choice, buy salads, fruit, and other food in plastic bags rather than rigid plastic containers, which take up more room in landfills.
Badscuits
It is hard to see what is so perfect about Pillsbury Perfect Portions Buttermilk Biscuits.
Each one has 200 calories, 3 grams of sat fat, and - courtesy of its partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils - 4 1/2 grams of trans. fat. That is about what you would get in a Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnut - a third of a day's bad fat in a few airy bites.
And do not forget the handy serving suggestions for Perfect Portions at pillsbury.com. The Wrapped Tenderloin with Gorgonzola-Mushroom Gravy, for example, offers each lucky diner 1130 calories, 34 grams of sat fat, and 9 grams of trans.
Granted, the Nutrition Facts label discloses the trans fat. But it offers no clue that some health experts recommend no more than 2 grams of trans in an entire day.
That makes Perfect Portions Flaky and Reduced Fat Biscuits not so perfect either. Each drops some 3 grams of trans and 2 grams of sat fat into your arteries.
Tip: "reduced fat" can mean just a quarter less fat than usual. That is a far cry from "low fat" or "healthy".
"Peel, place and bake!" sings the Pillsbury label. To your arteries, it sounds more like "reel, brace, and quake."
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Whole Grain Bread Basics
1. Be sure the first ingredient begins with the word"whole". Enriched wheat flour is not whole grain.
2. Do not be fooled by "multi-grain" or "7-grain" breads. That does not guarantee a whole grain product.
3. Be aware the phrase "made from whole grain" is typically used on breads that are not 100% whole grain.
4. Check the ingredient list for various forms of sodium and sugar. SOME BREADS CONTAIN HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP IN SUBSTANTIAL QUANTITIES.
5. To get back to basics, choose a 100% whole grain bread with the shortest ingredient list you can find.
Choose wisely . . . live well.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Whole grain "stamps"
To get whole grains, READ labels. More and more breads are making it easy to spot a true whole grain bread by sporting one of 3 stamps from the Whole Grains Council, a group of manufacturers, scientists and chefs dedicated to increasing consumption of whole grains. The stamps identify a "good" or "exellent" source of whole grains. A "good" source provides 8 grams, equivalent to a half serving of whole grains,: an "exellent" source provides 16 grams, equal to one serving of whole grains. A third stamp identifies products that are also 100% whole grain.
Choose wisely . . . live well
