veggies: green onions, red bell pepper, shredded carrotfruit: pineapple, grapes, mango, berries, dried apricots, applenuts (always toasted): pecans, almonds, walnuts, cashewsherbs: basil, oregano, tarragon, cilantroother flavors: soy sauce, lemon juice, mustard (grainy, Dijon, honey)
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Saturday, May 30, 2009
Pineapple Almond Chicken Salad
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty & Frosty-cino

I'm sure you have seen the commercial by now (I don't watch much TV and I've seen it several times). Wendy's has 2 new Frosties on its menu: Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty & Frotsy-cino.
Boy do these look good...in fact too good! Let's do a little nutrition research...
The Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty comes in 1 size and has:
540 calories
20 g fat (15 g saturated, 1/2 g trans)
83 g carbohydrate (69 g sugar)
9 g protein
The good news (I'm being sarcastic) is that it provides 30% of the DV for calcium...so there must be some real milk in there somewhere! FYI 69 g sugar = about 17 tsp or 6 tbsp! (But not all of that sugar is table sugar...some is milk sugar, lactose, which isn't sweet at all).
The Frosty-cino come in 2 sizes, small and large; the large has:
520 calories
12 g fat (8 g saturated, 1/2 g trans)
86 g carbohydrate (72 g sugar)
9 g protein
The small would obviously be slightly better nutritionally (it has 390 calories).
Now...lets compare this to a 1/4 lb hamburger (with mayo):
430 calories
20 g fat (7 g saturated, 1 g trans)
38 g carbohydrate (9 g sugar)
25 g protein
Hmm. The burger looks like it might be the better option...what do you think? Personally, I consider all of these sweet coffee drinks special treats...something that you have occasionally! If you must have coffee, drink something with less sugar and fat. Coffee is NOT an excuse for DESSERT!
Here are some other coffee drinks for comparison:
270 calories
8 g fat (4.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
43 g carbohydrate (35 g sugar)
7 g protein
McDonald's Iced Vanilla Latte (medium - 16 oz, with skim milk):
150 calories
0 g fat
33 g carbohydrate (33 g sugar)
5 g protein
Starbuck's Coffee Frappuccino (grande - 16 oz, no whip):
240 calories
3 g fat (2 g saturated)
48 g carbohydrate (40 g sugar)
5 g protein
Starbuck's Caramel Frappuccino (grande - 16 oz, no whip):
270 calories
3.5 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
53 g carbohydrate (45 g sugar)
5 g protein
Starbuck's Iced Caffe Latte (grande - 16 oz, no whip, skim milk):
90 calories
0 g fat (0 g saturated)
13 g carbohydrate (11 g sugar)
8 g protein
Starbuck's Iced Caffe Latte with flavored syrup (grande - 16 oz, no whip, skim milk):
160 calories
0 g fat (0 g saturated)
31 g carbohydrate (28 g sugar)
7 g protein
FYI...adding whipped cream adds about 110 calories and 11 g fat (7 g saturated) to a grande frapp at Starbucks...don't get it!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Spring Produce
You hear it over and over again..."Eat more fruits and vegetables"...but do you?
Well, the first step towards this goal is to BUY more fruits and vegetables. If you get them in your kitchen, chances are (hopefully) that you will eat them and not let them go to waste.
Right now in my kitchen I have apples, grapes, cherries (frozen), mango, rhubarb (is that a vegetable???...yep it is, I just Googled it); I also have romaine lettuce, green onions, carrots, eggplant, tomatoes, tomatillos, poblano peppers, and corn (I'm making this recipe this weekend). So I'm all stocked with healthy things...this way I'm more likely to eat healthy!
So next time you go grocery shopping, start in the produce section and purchase whatever looks/smells fresh...like spring. Or head to the farmer's market and buy whatever they have...if it's there you know it's fresh and seasonal.
Here is a list of what's in season now (March/April/May). Look around the site; it's the government's "eat more fruits and veggies website"...there are recipes, tips on shopping and meal planning, activities for kids, and other interesting things.
And lastly here are 2 other links with recipes to inspire you. The first is an article from the NY Times by Mark Bittman...he is a cookbook author and has a website with some free recipes...be careful, all of them are are not necessarily low-cal.
Anyway, the article is "Summer Express: 101 Simple meals ready in 10 minutes or less". They aren't really recipes, just ways to put a few ingredients together to make a quick meal. Again not all of them are low-cal.
And the other is from realsimple.com, 43 easy spring produce recipes.
So let's pretend you have all this produce in your kitchen...now what? Here is a guide to cooking 20 different veggies. And remember, the less you cook them (less time, heat, and water), the more nutrients are retained (with the exception of tomatoes, which are even better for you when cooked)...this means you Mel and your olive green broccoli!
- Per serving - 98 calories, 8 g fat (3 g saturated), 12 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein (exchanges: ½ fruit, 1 vegetable, 1 ½ fat, ½ protein)
- Notes - You could substitute any type of lettuce in place of the arugula, Bibb, and watercress; If you serve this as a meal you will want to eat more than 1 cup: add some lean protein and double up on the veggies...maybe add red bell pepper, green onions, and more lettuce...you might need to make/use a little more dressing too; here is another similar salad that has avocado...yum!
- Per serving - 168 calories, 11 g fat (5 g saturated), 5 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, `12 g protein (exchanges: 1 vegetable, 2 fat, 1 ½ protein)
- Notes - Complete the meal and serve with fruit for breakfast or with a simple salad for dinner; to lighten the dish even more, you could use more egg whites and omit a couple of yolks and use reduced fat cheese (and possibly less of it)
- Per serving - 265 calories, 1 g fat (0 g saturated), 63 g carbohydrates, 9 g fiber, 6 g protein (exchanges: 2 fruit, 1 starch...unless you omit the honey, ½ milk)
- Notes - You can use any fresh or frozen berry in this shake or swap the juice for another type; I would add the honey last and taste before to see if it's necessary...it might already be sweet enough from the banana, berries, and juice; I like my smoothies thick so I add ice…and this way you get to drink more for the same amount of calories!
- Per serving - 145 calories, 4 g fat (1 g saturated), 27 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber, 3 g protein (exchanges: 1 starch, ½ fruit, 1 vegetable, 1 fat)
- Notes - I would double the dressing and save half...then for a quick lunch you could have a mixed green salad (with the extra dressing) and a serving of wheat berries
Shrimp Scampi with Artichokes -
- Per serving - 285 calories, 10 g fat (2 g saturated), 14 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber, 32 g protein (exchanges: 5 protein, 1 vegetable, 2 fat)
- Notes - Complete the meal and serve with whole wheat angel hair pasta and steamed asparagus
- Per serving - 410 calories, 14 g fat (2 g saturated), 15 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber, 56 g protein (exchanges: 7 protein, 2 vegetable, 2 ½ fat)
- Notes - This is a lot of chicken for 1 meal (8+ ounces)…save some calories (about 140) and have ½ of a chicken breast, or try and buy smaller ones
Sunday, May 10, 2009
JazzyBird Coffee


Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Cold Sesame Noodles

Makes 8 servings
salt
1 pound whole wheat linguine or fettuccine
- One of the ways I altered this recipe was by adding A LOT more veggies - this is something I always try to do...and in this recipe it will help fill you up so you don't have to eat so much pasta
- Speaking of pasta, did you know the whole wheat kind has 5 - 6 grams of fiber per serving (as oposed to 2 grams in white pasta)?
- I added shrimp when I made this recipe (you may have noticed them in the photo)...I bought boiled shrimp (about 1 pound) from Whole Foods and cut each in half
- I used natural peanut butter and it worked fine, but because it had no added sugar, I added a little brown sugar (about 1 tbsp) to the blender
- Martha says this serves 4...I have news for her, no one needs to eat 4 ounces of pasta at one sitting - I say it serves 8! And if it's not enough food for you (after adding a protein), serve it with a salad...or leave the protein out and serve the pasta with teriyaki marinated chicken
What Does a Dietitian Eat? (Day 3)
Wednesday May 6th
- Snack - Cantaloupe (1/2 cup)
- 4 mile jog
- Breakfast - Mango smoothie
- Lunch - Hummus (2 - 3 tbsp) with snow peas; Salad with romaine, red bell pepper, carrot, and sun-dried tomato-feta vinaigrette; Dijon-cilantro tuna salad sandwich on whole wheat toast
- Snack - Iced latte with skim milk, a splash of 1/2&1/2, and 1 packet of sugar
- Teach dance from 3:30 - 4:30 and 8:00 - 9:00 pm
- Dinner - Black bean soup with 2% cheddar and 0% FAGE
- Dessert - Apple
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
What Does a Dietitian Eat? (Day 2)
Tuesday May 5th
- Breakfast - 2 small peaches, cottage cheese and Greek/vanilla yogurt (1/2 cup each), coffee with 1 tbsp condensed milk
- Snack - Hummus (2 - 3 tbsp) with snow peas
- 3 mile jog
- Lunch - Salad with dijon-cilantro tuna salad
- Snack - Whole wheat toast with strawberry jam
- Teach dance from 3:30 - 7:30 pm
- Dinner - Peanut butter (1 Tbsp); Omelet (2 eggs plus 2 whites) with mushrooms, tomatoes, green onions, and 2% cheddar
- Dessert - Strawberry buttermilk ice cream
Monday, May 04, 2009
What Does a Dietitian Eat? (Day 1)
"Just as you balance your spending and savings, you must balance your food choices. Don’t eat too much of any one thing, balance starches with proteins, vegetables and fruits with sweets, and always balance a splurge with a save. This balancing is approximate—but it works, without counting, measuring, or obsessing."
I agree with this 100% and it's how I eat everyday...oatmeal for breakfast and sandwich for lunch? Then no starches at dinner! Yogurt and fruit for breakfast and a salad with chicken for lunch? Then pasta with marinara and veggies for dinner will be just fine!
She continues...
"Most of the time, make smart investments in healthful foods that fill you up. Then, when you really want to splurge, go ahead. You aren’t dieting, remember. You are living. However, a splurge comes with a price. You have to balance that splurge by cutting back a little afterward, until your accounts are in order again."
Again...my thoughts exactly! Saturday we celebrated Hil's birthday and I had cake...2 pieces! There were 2 different kinds and I wanted to try both, so I did. And they were really good, so I'm glad I did! Yesterday I was busy teaching/judging Saintsation auditions and really didn't have time to balance my splurge (I ate out all three meals). So today I'm doing just that! Back to my healthful, everyday way of eating...minus any extra sweet treats to restore the balance.
Monday May 4th
- 3 mile jog
- Breakfast - Low-fat vanilla yogurt and 2% cottage cheese (1/2 cup total)
- Lunch - Turkey sandwich on wheat bun with avocado, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and MAYO!*
- Snack - Strawberries with a little Greek/vanilla yogurt
- Teach dance from 4:30 - 9 pm
- Dinner - Salmon spinach salad from La Madeleine with red bell pepper, strawberries, mushrooms, and dressing on the side
- Dessert - Chocolate soy milk mixed with skim milk (1/2 cup of each)
Friday, May 01, 2009
Stevia...to sweet to be true?
Is Stevia really “natural?”
The April 26 New York Times Magazine carried a seductive ad on page 15 for PepsiCo’s “Trop50 orange juice goodness with 50% less calories and sugar…And no artificial sweeteners” PepsiCo performs this miracle by diluting the juice by half with water (really, you could do this at home). But in case the result isn’t sweet enough for you, Trop50 adds the sweetener, Stevia.
PepsiCo can get away with claiming that its juice drink has no artificial sweeteners. Because Stevia is isolated from leaves of the Stevia plant, the FDA lets companies claim it is “natural.”
We can debate whether a chemical sweetener isolated from Stevia leaves is really “natural” but here’s another problem: Stevia doesn’t taste like sugar. Companies have to fuss with it to cover up its off taste. And, they must do so “without detracting from the perceived benefits of its natural status.” Flavor companies are working like mad to find substances that block Stevia’s bitter taste, mask its off flavors, and extend its sweetness, while staying within the scope of what the FDA allows as “natural.”