Color your Diet!

Today I am supposed to be productive – at least that is what I told myself!  It is a really rainy day, which is fine with me, but it makes me want to do things like oh… drink coffee, relax,  then repeat.

So, I figure I will do that for part of the day at least, then get on to some of the projects I want to get done.  I am counting this blogging stuff in with my drinking coffee and relaxing section today so I will make it kind of short (you are welcome) and then I have a magazine that came in the mail I want to look through (Thanks mom for my food network subscription!)

The topic of the day:

COLORFUL FOOD!

(not necessarily M&M’s, but nice try!)

Call me weird, but food is so pretty!  I mean think about all the colors food comes in…. I am talking about NATURAL food here… fruits and vegetables! It is one thing to walk into a department store and see all the pretty spring colors, all the new clothes… but walk into a field of wildflowers or a garden… or the produce section of a nice grocery store and tell me that is not pretty! I love it!  But of course, I am a foodie and it makes me so excited!

Did you know that vitamins and all that healthy stuff are what gives food its natural color? Eating a variety of colors… a  rainbow of colorful foods is what helps provide nutrient rich foods in your diet… which will in turn help you feel better, have a healthier life and even have more energy.  There is not a pill out there to match the health benefits of real, natural food! 

If you think of your dinner plate as a picture, how much color is there? Try and at least have each “item” a different color.  Brown is a color, but for the sake of my example it does not count…. and neither does potatoes or pasta.  So, think of adding color to those basic “staple”/”common” items.  Here are some examples…

• meat and potatoes can be spruced up by swapping the potato for sweet potatoes or yams… or even better, broccoli, squash, beans etc… think vibrant color, not bland.  The brighter the color, the more nutrients. 
• Salad is a way to add nutrients to any meal…
• Adding fresh fruit as a side/condiment or topping is a great idea too!
• Here are some pictures from “my kitchen” showing some color and ways to add fruits and veggies….

  

  

  
  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  
  
  

This is bold, but hey I am going to say it!  Fruits and veggies are expensive but so is going to the doctor and so is medication.  I’m not saying that people who eat healthy never go to the doctor, or people who don’t always go… but I am quite sure they go less if not a lot less.  

If you can buy fruits and vegetables when they are in season, it is very  helpful.  For example, strawberries in Florida are pretty cheap right now, but tomatoes are not…   Think of ways to incorporate more strawberries is a great idea (at least right now) and saving your recipes that use a lot of tomatoes may be good if you are on a budget…. don’t make salsa right now!   OR grow your own, which I want to try this year by the way! But my point is look at what is on sale where you live, shop around and don’t let the price alone determine whether you buy or not, think about the benefits and the fun of colorful food too!   Often we over-look the frozen foods section, often there are good deals there for berries, peas etc.  They are also easy to prepare in many cases because they are already washed and ready to go!

Color your plate, your diet and your world!

 

Sweet Tea…a surprising weight gaining tool!

I thought that my little nutrition tip for today would be focused on…

Sweetened Beverages but mainly,

SWEET TEA

…which is fitting  since I am currently living in the South! To think of it, I am surprised that the City does not just pump sweet tea through the facet!

I will use a friend of ours as an example and try to keep it short …

When Greg and I got back to Florida we were visiting with his good friend and it came up in conversation that this friend wanted to lose a few pounds. So we began talking with him about his diet/eating habits/etc… I was thinking we could pick one thing to focus on to begin with since he had never really “dieted” or actively tried to lose weight.  So I was listening, trying to pick something out and not too far into the conversation, he mentioned that he drinks a lot of sweet tea… right there I stopped him and asked — exactly how much sweet tea?

After some quick calculations, we concluded that he was probably drinking at LEAST a gallon every 2 days if not MORE… much closer to one gallon per day… he was drinking it all day beginning at breakfast.

I knew that the best thing to focus on (if he was willing of course) would be his sweetened beverage intake… SWEET TEA –> this is why… 

A common ratio of making tea in these parts is

2 cups sugar: 1 gallon water. 

This is significant for those that drink a lot of it because:

2 cups of sugar has about 1,550 calories. So if you are drinking one gallon of tea everyday, that is 1,500 calories most likely beyond what you need since people drink it on top of meals or in between…. OR

7 gallons per week totaling 10,850 extra calories.

for every 3,500 calories consumed over what your body does not need it will equal one pound of body fat gained.

So… 1 gallon a day or 10,850 calories a week from the sugar in sweet tea equates to a potential gain of 3.1 pounds a week!

Your body does not need this sugar for many reasons, but if one wants to lose weight, cutting back on sweetened beverages can really make a big difference.  Some people don’t consume soda, juice or this “sweet tea” or this sweet of tea, but for those that do in large quantities – there is a big health benefit in cutting back or cutting it out completely.  He was drinking what I would consider a lot, but I know there are people who drink that amount or more…

For those that drink less, even an average glass (16 oz) of sweet tea has almost 200 calories. If this was extra calories (beyond your daily need) and someone was only drinking one glass per day… there would be a gradual gain of ~2 pounds a month. Or, on the other hand, cutting out one glass a day could potentially cause a loss of 2 pounds a month!

So, anyways, back to the story!

I suggested he cut back on his intake of sweet tea and do nothing else for a while… and then we would see how it was going… I just suggested he cut back to start with because going from a gallon a day to none a day is drastic!   He thought that it would be better for him to quit it “cold turkey”…

This friend of ours has lost 30 pounds since November of 2010…. that is significant seeming that the only change he made was cutting out sweet tea altogether.  WAY TO GO!!!

That is all I had for today on the topic, but it is something to think about.  There are many other drinks out there that are loaded with calories and often people don’t think to look at those as a cause or aid in weight gain.

People ask me about artificial sweetened beverages too and that is a whole different story to me, I don’t encourage a lot of sweetened beverages or artificially sweetened beverages – but we can save that for a future bloggy.

 

P.S. He did have some pretty rough headaches for a week or so at the beginning of this (one reason why gradual may be good) but they completely subsided and he feels a lot better overall now. 

Home Improvement #4: My Jar Shelf!

The Jar Shelf Greg Made!

This is by far my favorite “home improvement” project yet… I just love it! Every time I walk into the kitchen it makes me smile.  Greg built this shelf literally in to the wall for me to put my jars on. The problem with our kitchen is that there is not much cupboard space or storage (no pantry area either) so somehow all my dishes, baking items, pans, glasses, mugs, utensils etc. and not to mention food has to fit in the small area!  This was his grand creation…an inset shelf for me to put all my precious jars on!  You can see that before the shelf was there, this wall was just plain and a wasted space because there was no room to add any cupboards, counter or anything…but I sure am using it now, and daily! I get into many of these jars everyday at least once… I have many baking goods, nuts,  chocolate chip varieties, flax-seed, wheat bran and germ, popcorn kernels, cornmeal, candy, peanut butter, dried beans, oats and more!

The nut row...

Items for baking!

This project turned out wonderful! It was a slow process at first while he cut out the sheet rock and 2 studs… while keeping the other side of the sheet rock (living room wall) blemish free, but after the hole was made the rest went fairly quickly. He made the shelf to size and slid it in place!

I think everywhere we live I need a jar shelf…I just love it! The problem is, I can’t take this one with me – he may be needing to make another one someday if we have another house!

A few grocery store tips… happy shopping!

I absolutely enjoy going to the grocery store – really!  But, not just any grocery store, but a nice, clean, friendly store… with good prices (but I admit, I WILL pay more for quality and cleanliness)!  I am known to spend more than a few hours at the store…in ONE trip! So, why on earth does it take me soooo long!?  I make it fun, try to be an informed and aware shopper, take my blood pressure at the pharmacy, look for new items, and find plenty of distractions.  At the store, I try to make decisions that are healthy but don’t break the bank!

 

Since it is still Nutrition Month… here are some shopping tips from me! I have many many  more years to shop and many more tips to learn – but hey, I have acquired a few good ones that you may or may not already know. Maybe it will at least make your trip more interesting… if not more fun!

1. Shop the perimeter of the store –> Have you ever noticed that most of the healthier foods are around the perimeter of the store? The produce, meat and dairy sections are almost always located around the border of the store…(of course there are things on the outside that are not healthy…like donuts from the bakery, but you get the idea ). 

2. Always check the labels… “nutrition facts” –> Some people don’t care how many calories, fat, protein or carbs are in what they eat…but it is a good idea to know and of course I think everyone should care.  I will not go into detail about what you “should” look for but a very basic thing is to look at the serving size! Companies have to specify a serving size (like 1/2 Cup) so you know what the facts are referring to.  They will try to make their product look good on the label but if you look at the amount of food they are talking about you may be surprised!

3. Check the ingredients –> Are you getting what you think you are? One thing I like to use for an example is juice… how about “Pomegranate juice” … if you look at the ingredient list, what does it say? many times you will see apple, pear, and other flavors before you get to see pomegranate!  Many foods are filled with cheap fillers but companies can get away with a lot in this area.  Another example is “guacamole”…many times you will see this word but look closer because you may get “guacamole flavored dip”… which will have maybe 2% or less actual avocado!  I could go on forever in this category, but read and see what you are actually buying and compare it to what you actually want!

4. Plan a menu and make a list –>  Going in with a list will help you spend money on what you need, rather than many other exciting things that catch your eye! I try and at least have our dinner meals planned out. If I have time, I look at the food that we have on hand and then find recipes or create something in my head they could go towards…then create my list based on what I need to complete those meals.

My favorite carts to use! You can buzz around and they are just so fun!

5. Creat a grocery list with categories –> to help you organize your trip!  Consider: The store you shop at and the direction you shop it! For example, I like to go to “Publix” grocery stores where we live now, and I go in and shop beginning on the right side of the store (but on a real hot day or when I need a lot I will start with the non-perishables).  So I would create a template for myself that has categories (with space to write my items) in the order I will go through them at the store) For example:  deli…produce…meat…dairy…grocery…

6. Check the dates –> make sure you can use it in the life it has left! Sometimes things are on sale for a reason… they will expire soon! This is what I have found with meats and daily items…. not just brown bananas!

7. Is it really a deal? –> No, if you don’t need it and extra YES, if you do! I have learned that you can acquire too many boxes of cereal and pasta source because they are always on sale! If bread is on sale and I buy 2, the extra one may go bad… so it is only a deal if you are going to be using it before it expires!  It is easy to buy more non-perishables than I need, but have found that it is worth something to me to be able to put away the things I need because I don’t have much cabinet or storage space! The store can store it for me and I will pick it up when I need it!

8.  Don’t shop hungry! –> This is a pretty big one because it is hard to stay on task or budget when you shop hungry…everything looks so good!

Well, those are some that popped into my head today and hopefully there was something helpful in there for you!

Happy shopping and I will be back another day!

A delightful mini snack…

It does not get any easier than this… of course the store you shop at needs to carry them… and you have to want them too!

They are so cute and small… and not to mention a healthy option to ”hold you over”. 

I think many of the bananas at the store are entirely too big. I really like bananas when they are at their perfect ripeness and it is hard to time it right and eat them all in that tiny window…. it really boils down to this: I just don’t love bananas enough to enjoy the taste through an enormous overgrown banana so… these are a great solution!

check these out! 

Mini Bananas

I thought It would be a good and simple post to introduce them to you (those of you that have not seen them) because they are a healthy snack and so easy to grab and go…have at your desk or wherever you work/play etc.  I also thought of it being a great idea for kids because I have seen countless times where they want a banana (gotta have it)…eat 2 bites and leave the rest to go bad… which is understandable because I will also say that the enormous bananas are just too much for a little belly in one sitting. 

Ok, all for now – that is my quick (have to get busy on what I need to do) food post for the day.

Home Improvement #3: Coffee Wall!

This project was just plain fun…. not exactly necessary or maybe a better word is mandatory but at least we had a few reasons even if they are for the fun of it.  

Here is a before shot: a sorry one, but it is all I could find.

The dining area - Before

We wanted to give the area (The “dining” area) some personality and make it “us”.  We  both love to drink coffee…especially together and with company so we decided to make a little “coffee shop” – or at least in our minds if nobody elses.  We went to Home Depot and picked out the paint color:

“Espresso”

… so as you can imagine it is dark dark dark… much like black coffee… a deep rich dark brown!  But to our realization after painting the first coat it was wrong… it had to be because it was more like an elephant that got into a blueberry fight – an awkward greyish purple.  We called them and they said “it darkens as it dries”. Well it would have to darken a significant amount. We took it back and they did some checking and realized they used the wrong base to start with… so round 2 in progress….

In Progress... on with "espresso"

So,what were our reasons for going dark? 

Kind of like our orders at the coffee shop…

“(Greg) grande dark with no room and a

(Beka) grande vanilla extra-hot latte, please”

so… our walls reflect it well… one just plain coffee goodness, and one sweet and creamy!

Our Little “Coffee Shop”

So, if you get a chance, come drink some coffee with us!

Any time is Coffee Time

 

Spaghetti Squash

A veggie that we have really enjoyed is: Spaghetti Squash – of which you  knew would be the topic since it is the title of this post!

Something that Greg loves for dinner  is “Spaghetti Bake”… something I started making this summer in Colorado.  More recently he has been asking for:  Spaghetti Bake with Spaghetti Squash!   This is a much healthier version of the original creation as it has many more nutrients and less overall carbohydrates.  Since it is “National Nutrition Month” I thought it would be a good post. 

• A One cup serving of Spaghetti Squash on a basic level has:  42 calories, 10 grams of carbs, 2.2 grams of dietary fiber, 1 gram of protein, and only 0.4 grams of fat.
• A one cup serving of enriched plain white spaghetti noodles has: 197 calories, 39.7 grams of carbs, 2.4 grams of dietary fiber, 6.7 grams of protein, and is low in fat with barely under 1 gram. 

As you can see, the main difference in the two is the carbs (which is very important, but of varying importance to different people)… and the carbs are what make up the main caloric difference.  But on a macro-nutrient level, the pasta is enriched (it has some vitamins and minerals put in it) but the difference is the naturally occurring vitamins and minerals that are present in the squash.  It is so much better to get our nutrients from real foods that contain the vitamins and minerals naturally. 

The Spaghetti Bake: 

     First I cut the squash in half, clean out the seeds and slimy stringy matter. Then bake it in a 300-325 degree oven (~40 minutes or so) face down in a little bit of water (cover with foil).  This can be done in a microwave covered with plastic wrap in about 5-7 minutes time. Do whichever suits you!

Spaghetti Squash - Unbaked

… in the meantime I cook my meat sauce, only I make it pretty meaty and thick so it will set up later.  You will know the squash is done when you can fairly easily scrape the flesh out and it “noodles” up like so…

Spaghetti Squash - Cooked

Once my meat sauce is done, I stir the “noodles” together with it and put it in a casserole dish – 9×13 pan most often… then top it with whatever cheese I want and bake it at 350 for a few minutes… enough to heat through if all my ingredients were not hot… and of course melt the cheesy goodness on top. 

"Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti Bake"

 I have made the spaghetti bake with only noodles (usually whole wheat), or only spaghetti squash (Greg’s favorite with lots of meat)… and sometimes a combination (Beka’s favorite). If you do the noodles, cook them accordingly and stir them in with the squash and meat sauce!

Enjoy and remember this is a great way to incorporate a healthy veggie into a meal… and even sneak some in for the family (should pass  the test of picky eaters because it disguises in very well!)

Registered Dietitian Day!

Today is RD (Registered Dietitian Day)!  It is part of National Nutrition Month So if you are one, happy day to you and if you know one… happy day to them! I have been an RD for less than a year… passed the test, am legit, but have not found a job yet… but I guess I can celebrate today as well even tho I am “unemployed”!

Here is a little tidbit about RDs from the American Dietetic Association.  I have been asked a lot… “What does an RD do?”…. “Where can you get a job?”… etc.  So this is helpful in answering some of those questions if you do not know and there are more links there to find out more.  RDs are found in many communities and sometimes in places you would not expect…  food management, hospitals, schools, public health clinics, nursing homes, fitness centers, food industry, universities, research and private practice and more.  Very generally, a dietitian is someone who is an advocate for nutrition/health and has an interest in the nutritional status and well-being of People. I know this is true for me even though I still have so much to learn!

Hope you are having a wonderful day today!

We had some honored guests!

Well… the much awaited and anticipated time finally came! I have been so excited for my wonderful parents to come visit us here in Florida!  The time came, we had a great time and sadly… it is already gone!  It was so much fun and of course went entirely too fast!  We did quite a bit in the quick week that they were here,  I am not going to give a whole journal breakdown or day by day list of what we did but will share a few photos from the week to give an outline in pictures! I am so glad they made the trip… all the way from Oregon! They made a trip from Coast to Coast! I was hoping for some nice and warm weather while they were here to give them a break from the cold and snowy winter there… and we got it!  We all aquired tans (and even some burns),  drank lots of starbucks, ate good food and laughed a lot!

 I am hoping not too much time goes by until we can reunite again… this living 3,000 miles away is really quite tough at times but I am so thankful for the time that we do have! 

Thanks for coming my wonderful parents!!!

26 years of life!

Well, here I am…. One year older. I do not write with regret, but excitement. This past year I have become more excited about life and what the next year will bring… more so, what life will bring!

In the past, I sometimes carried regret about getting “old” or “older”, but have realized that is not going to make anything any better and hinders me from fully enjoying the present and all there is to enjoy in the now!  I am not old and why worry about that anyways?  I have always been a dreamer but those dreams have not included  “old” days… wrinkles, not getting around, losing driving privileges and all that… but I admit maybe some fear of those things happening has creeped in to my thoughts.  I am no longer going to dream about what I do not want to happen in life but what I do want to happen because I believe it will. We are not to live lives of fear,stress or worry but I believe we are to enjoy our time here… be creative, dream, explore, trust, have fun, explore new things and follow our hearts and enjoy the journey.  

One quote that I like to remember and use to evaluate myself from time to time is:

“Never allow your memories to be bigger than your dreams”

I know that I will continue to dream because I always have, but my goal is to work towards making them become reality in my life and striving to expand my own horizon. There is so much out there to experience and enjoy!   Life is too short to just sit around and get stuck in the normal day-to-day buzz.  Sure, I want the normal things like other people want… job, house, kids, nice car etc. but that is not what it is all about for me (or us from that matter as I speak for my husband as well).  For us, life is about so much more!  It is so easy to “arrive” or just “get by” and quit working towards something greater.   I know many people my age that already live like they are “old” and are convinced that they can’t do certain things anymore… like run, jump, do something spontaneous, or who know what! ”I am too old for this”……..  that is not me (that is not us) and I will not adopt that attitude for my life because I have many years left to enjoy.

I could go on longer and completely exhaust all of our time and brain power rambling on, but I will save it for another post. 

So in closing, I believe life is what you create! What you think about all the time and the outlook you have on life or yourself is what will manifest. 

The fun bright flowers my parents sent today!